Basketball in North America
Photo: Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Basketball is one of the most popular team sports in North America, both as a spectator sport and as an activity, and the second most popular sport in the world, only after soccer. The top professional league, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is among the "Big 4" of North American sports leagues when it comes to popularity and revenue. The others are the National Football League, National Hockey League and Major League Baseball. The NBA is head and shoulders above all other professional basketball leagues, and thus attracts the best talent from all over the world.
UnderstandThe game was invented in December 1891 by the Canadian-American James Naismith, who was a college professor in Springfield, Massachusetts.
NBAThe National Basketball Association (NBA), the top league of basketball in the world, has 30 teams as of the 2024–25 season, one of which is from Canada and 29 from the United States.
WNBAThe Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), operated by the NBA and often called simply "the W", is arguably the top women's league in the world, at least in level of competition.
Minor leaguesThe NBA's official minor league, known as the G League due to a sponsorship deal with the Gatorade sports drink, has operated since 2001.
College basketball (NCAA)Most universities across the United States also sponsor both men's and women's basketball teams.
Exhibition teamsExhibition teams mix basketball with tricks, comedy and theatrics. The best known exhibition basketball team in North America is the Harlem Globetrotters.
3x33x3 or three on three is a variant of basketball on a half-court with only one hoop and three players in each team.
StreetballStreetball is basketball played outdoors, and usually with less strict rules than regular basketball.
Outside North AmericaOutside North America, basketball is a big sport in Mediterranean Europe, the former Eastern Bloc, former Yugoslavia, China, the Philippines, and Liberia, and is the second most popular spectator sport in the world…
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Basketball in North America" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons