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Dominique Wilkins

Dominique Wilkins

Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960 in Paris, France) is a former professional basketball player in the NBA, "'Nique" (a.k.a. The Human Highlight Film) was one of the greatest forwards to ever play in the NBA. Wilkins left the University of Georgia after his junior year, where he was drafted by the Utah Jazz in the 1982 NBA Draft. Reluctant to play with the Jazz, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks several months after the draft. From 1983-84 to 1993-94, Wilkins never averaged fewer than 20 points per game and captured a scoring title in 1985-86 with an average of 30.3 points per game. Wilkins, in addition to his eleven seasons with the Hawks, had short stints with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Boston Celtics, Panathinaikos Athens (the biggest professional team in Greece, with whom he won his first titles ever(!) ; the European Clubs' Championship and the Greek Cup), Fortitudo Bologna (a professional team in Italy), the San Antonio Spurs and the Orlando Magic before he retired in 1999. Wilkins was instrumental to the Hawk's prominence in the 1980s, the club recorded 50-win seasons four times during the decade. As Wilkins entered his thirties, and the Hawks started to require an all-round contribution from their star, Wilkins evolved into an all-round player, averaging 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the 1990 season. Wilkins, a nine-time NBA All-Star and the winner of two Slam Dunk contests, registered 26,668 points (one of only 12 players) and 7,169 rebounds in his NBA career. He was also known as the "The Human Highlight Film" for his Ervingesque athleticism, and highlight reel dunks which helped him to win 2 slam dunk titles.His trademark dunk was usually a windmill. His duels in the contest with the young Michael Jordan are widely considered to have been the best slam dunk contests ever. He is the older brother of former NBA guard Gerald Wilkins, and uncle to current Seattle SuperSonics guard Damien Wilkins. Wilkins was ranked #27 on SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA Players of all time in 2003. His #21 jersey was retired by the Hawks on January 13, 2001.

Lifetime stats


- Games: 1,074
- PTS: 26,668
- PPG: 24.8
- RPG: 6.7
- APG: 2.5
- FG% .461
- FT% .811

Honours


- 1986 NBA Scoring Champion
- NBA All-Star Dunk Contest Competition: 1985, 1990.
- All-NBA First Team: 1986.
- All-NBA Second Team: 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993.
- All-NBA Third Team: 1989, 1994.
- Nine-time All-Star: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994.

External links


- [http://www.basketballreference.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=WILKIDO01 databaseBasketball.com Wilkins stats page ] Wilkins, Dominique Wilkins, Dominique Wilkins, Dominique Wilkins, Dominique Wilkins, Dominique Wilkins, Dominique Wilkins, Dominique Wilkins, Dominique Wilkens, Dominique ko:도미니크 윌킨스

January 12

January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 353 days remaining (354 in leap years).

Events


- 1528 - Gustav I of Sweden crowned king of Sweden.
- 1592 - Titus Andronicus first staged at the Rose Theatre.
- 1773 - The first public Colonial American museum opens in Charleston, South Carolina.
- 1777 - Mission Santa Clara de Asís is founded in what is now Santa Clara, California.
- 1838 - In order to avoid anti-Mormon.persecution, Joseph Smith, Jr. and his followers leave Ohio for Missouri.
- 1866 - Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London.
- 1872 - Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years.
- 1875 - Kwang-su becomes emperor of China.
- 1896 - H. L. Smith takes the first x-ray photograph.
- 1898 - Ito Hirobumi begins his third term as Prime Minister of Japan.
- 1908 - A long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time.
- 1915 - The Rocky Mountain National Park is formed by an act of U.S. Congress.
  - United States House of Representatives rejects proposal to give women the right to vote.
- 1926 - Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll premiere their radio program Sam 'n' Henry, a precursor to Amos 'n' Andy; possibly the first situation comedy.
- 1932 - Hattie W. Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate.
- 1940 - World War II: Russia bombs cities in Finland.
- 1942 - President Franklin Roosevelt creates the National War Labor Board.
- 1945 - World War II: The Soviets begin a large offensive in Eastern Europe against the Nazis.
- 1964 - Rebels in Zanzibar begin a revolt and later proclaim a republic.
- 1966 - Lyndon B. Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended.
  - Batman the TV series debuts on ABC.
- 1969 - Super Bowl III: New York Jets upset the Baltimore Colts, 16-7.
  - Hard rock band Led Zeppelin release their eponymous first album.
- 1970 - Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian civil war.
- 1971 - All in the Family debuts on CBS.
  - Harrisburg Six: The Reverend Philip Berrigan and five others are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, DC.
- 1976 - UN Security Council votes 11-1 to allow the Palestinian Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate (without voting rights).
- 1986 - Space shuttle Columbia takes-off with the first Hispanic-American astronaut, Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz.
- 1991 - Persian Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.
- 1992 - A new constitution, providing for freedom to form political parties, is approved by referendum in Mali.
- 1995 - Malcolm X's daughter, Qubilah Shabazz, is arrested for conspiring to kill Louis Farrakhan.
- 1998 - Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning.
- 2005 - Deep Impact (space mission) launches from Cape Canaveral by a Delta 2 rocket.

Births

1562 to 1899


- 1562 - Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1630)
- 1576 - Petrus Scriverius, Dutch writer (d. 1660)
- 1591 - Giuseppe Ribera, Spanish painter (d. 1652)
- 1628 - Charles Perrault, French folklorist (d. 1703)
- 1715 - Jacques Duphly, French composer (d. 1789)
- 1716 - Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general and governor of Louisiana (d. 1795)
- 1723 - Samuel Langdon, American President of Harvard University (d. 1797)
- 1729 - Edmund Burke, Irish statesman and philosopher (d. 1797)
- 1737 - John Hancock, American statesman (d. 1793)
- 1746 - Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss pedagogue (d. 1827)
- 1751 - King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (d. 1825)
- 1786 - Sir Robert Inglis, Bt, English politician (d. 1855)
- 1849 - Jean Béraud, French painter (d. 1935)
- 1856 - John Singer Sargent, American artist (d. 1925)
- 1863 - Swami Vivekananda, Indian guru (d. 1902)
- 1873 - Spiridon Louis, Greek runner (d. 1940)
- 1876 - Jack London, American author (d. 1916)
- 1876 - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer (d. 1948)
- 1877 - Frank J. Corr, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1934)
- 1878 - Ferenc Molnár, Hungarian writer (d. 1952)
- 1879 - Ray Harroun, American race car driver (d. 1968)
- 1882 - Milton Sills, American actor (d. 1930)
- 1884 - Texas Guinan, American actress (d. 1933)
- 1892 - Mikhail Gurevich, Russian aircraft designer (d. 1976)
- 1893 - Hermann Göring, Nazi official (d. 1946)
- 1893 - Alfred Rosenberg, Nazi official (d. 1946)
- 1896 - Rex Ingram, Irish director and actor (d. 1950)
- 1899 - Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1965)

1900 to 1999


- 1902 - King Saud of Saudi Arabia (d. 1969)
- 1905 - Tex Ritter, American actor and singer (d. 1974)
- 1906 - Daniil Kharms, Russian playwright (d. 1942)
- 1907 - Patsy Kelly, American actress (d. 1981)
- 1907 - Sergei Korolev, Russian rocket scientist (d. 1966)
- 1908 - Jean Delannoy, French film director
- 1908 - Clement Hurd, American children's book illustrator (d. 1988)
- 1910 - Luise Rainer, German actress
- 1915 - Paul Jarrico, American writer (d. 1997)
- 1916 - Pieter Willem Botha, President of South Africa
- 1916 - Jay McShann, American musician
- 1920 - James L. Farmer, Jr., American civil rights activist (d. 1999)
- 1923 - Ira Hayes, American soldier
- 1925 - Scottie MacGregor, American actress
- 1926 - Ray Price, American singer
- 1928 - Ruth Brown, American singer
- 1930 - Tim Horton, Canadian hockey player and entrepreneur (d. 1974)
- 1930 - Glenn Yarborough, American singer and songwriter
- 1932 - Des O'Connor, British television presenter
- 1935 - Kreskin, mentalist
- 1937 - Shirley Eaton, British actress
- 1944 - Joe Frazier, American boxer
- 1946 - George Duke, American musician
- 1948 - Khalid Abdul Muhammed, American Nation of Islam spokesman (d. 2001)
- 1949 - Wayne Wang, Hong Kong-born film director
- 1950 - Sheila Jackson Lee, American politician
- 1951 - Kirstie Alley, American actress
- 1951 - Rush Limbaugh, American radio personality
- 1952 - Walter Mosley, American author
- 1954 - Howard Stern, American radio host
- 1955 - Rockne O'Bannon, writer and television producer
- 1957 - John Lasseter, American director, writer, and animator
- 1959 - Blixa Bargeld, German singer (Einstürzende Neubauten)
- 1959 - Per Gessle, Swedish songwriter
- 1960 - Oliver Platt, Canadian actor
- 1960 - Dominique Wilkins, American basketball player
- 1964 - Jeff Bezos, American entrepreneur
- 1966 - Rob Zombie, American musician, artist, and writer
- 1970 - Zack de la Rocha, American musician (Rage Against the Machine)
- 1970 - Raekwon, American rapper
- 1972 - Espen Knutsen, Norwegian hockey player
- 1974 - Melanie Chisholm, British singer
- 1974 - Tor Arne Hetland, Norwegian cross-country skiier
- 1997 - HAL 9000, Computer by Arthur C. Clarke

Deaths

1321 to 1899


- 1321 - Maria of Brabant, queen of Philip III of France (b. 1256)
- 1519 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1459)
- 1583 - Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands (b. 1508)
- 1665 - Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician and lawyer (b. 1601)
- 1674 - Giacomo Carissimi, Italian composer (b. 1605)
- 1705 - Luca Giordano, Italian artist (b. 1634)
- 1732 - John Horsley, British archaeologist
- 1735 - John Eccles, English composer (b. 1668)
- 1777 - Hugh Mercer, American Revolutionary War officer (mortally wounded in battle)
- 1781 - Richard Challoner, English Catholic prelate (b. 1691)
- 1817 - Juan Andres, Spanish Jesuit (b. 1740)

1900 to 1999


- 1943 - Jan Campert, Dutch journalist and writer (b. 1902)
- 1944 - Lance C. Wade, American pilot (b. 1915)
- 1960 - Nevil Shute, English writer (b. 1899)
- 1965 - Lorraine Hansberry, American writer (b. 1936)
- 1976 - Agatha Christie, English writer (b. 1890)
- 1983 - Nikolai Podgorny, President of the USSR (b. 1903)
- 1991 - Keye Luke, Chinese-born actor (b. 1904)
- 1997 - Charles B. Huggins, Canadian-born cancer researcher, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1901)
- 1999 - Betty Lou Gerson, American voice actress (b. 1914)

2000 onwards


- 2000 - Marc Davis, American animator (b. 1913)
- 2000 - Bobby Phills, American basketball player (b. 1969)
- 2001 - Affirmed, American racehorse (b. 1975)
- 2001 - William Hewlett, American engineer and businessman (b. 1913)
- 2002 - Stanley Unwin, South African comedian (b. 1911)
- 2002 - Cyrus Vance, U.S. Secretary of State (b. 1917)
- 2003 - Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese director (b. 1930)
- 2003 - Leopoldo Galtieri, dictator of Argentina (b. 1926)
- 2003 - Maurice Gibb, British singer, songwriter, and musician (Bee Gees) (b. 1949)
- 2005 - Amrish Puri, Indian actor (b. 1932)
- 2005 - Edmund S. Valtman, Estonian-born cartoonist (b. 1914)

Holidays and observances


- Tanzania - Zanzibar Revolution Day
- Yennayer - Berber New Year

Fiction


- In 2001: A Space Odyssey, the fictional computer HAL becomes operational on January 12. In the movie by Stanley Kubrick HAL was "born" in 1992, while in the book by Arthur C. Clarke the same event occurs in 1997.
- In the television series The X-Files, the third season episode [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_X-Files_%28season_3%29#Syzygy SYZYGY], has two girls, Terri & Magi, both born on January 12, 1979. Strange astrological properties with 3+ celestial bodies in alignment gives them great power which they use to kill off several of their high school classmates on their birthday in 1996.
- In the USA's Monk (TV series), the 4th season episode of [http://www.usanetwork.com/series/monk/theshow/episodeguide/episodes/s4_andmrsmonk/index.html MR. MONK AND MRS. MONK (#T-2351)] indicates that Monk spilt something on January 12, 1999 during an earthquake. He stated "Earthquakes count, I don't make the rules."

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/12 BBC: On This Day] ---- January 11 - January 13 - December 12 - February 12 — listing of all days ko:1월 12일 ms:12 Januari ja:1月12日 simple:January 12 th:12 มกราคม

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city of France. Located on the river Seine in the country's north, it is a major cultural and political centre of Europe and the world's most visited city. The area's first inhabitants, a Celtic tribe named the "Parisii" give Paris its name. Its eponym, "the City of Lights" (la Ville Lumière), dates from 1828 when it became the first city in Europe to light its main boulevards with gas street lamps along its Champs-Élysées. The city of Paris is also widely referred to as the "most romantic city in the world." As a cultural and political centre for Europe since the early Middle Ages, Paris preserves many vestiges of its past. While hosting numerous art galleries, museums and theatres, it has grown into a significant centre of international trade with ever-growing modern business districts, including La Défense, the de facto city centre built for the purpose. In addition to the head offices of nearly half of all France's companies and the offices of many major international firms, Paris hosts the headquarters of many international trade and social organisations, including the OECD and UNESCO. The city of Paris proper has 2.1 million inhabitants , but its centre of influence extends to cover a "Greater Paris" metropolitan area that has a population of 11.1 million , over one sixth of the French population. Paris is the third largest metropolitan area in Europe (after Moscow and London), and approximately the 22nd most populous metropolitan area in the world. Paris is also the centre of an economic network that, within the limits of its Île-de-France région (of which it is also the capital), with a GDP of nearly €450 billion , is alone the producer of over one quarter of France's wealth. Because of its financial, business, political, and tourism activities, Paris today is one of the world's major transport destinations. Along with New York, London and Tokyo, it is often listed as one of the four major global cities.
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Name of Paris and its Inhabitants

Paris is pronounced (RP) or in English, and Image:ltspkr.png in French. The original Latin name of Paris was Lutetia (), or Lutetia Parisiorum, known in French as Lutèce (). Lutetia was later dropped in favor of only Paris, based on the name of the Gallic Parisi tribe, whose name perhaps comes from the Celtic Gallic word parios, meaning "caldron", but this is not certain. Traditionally, Paris was known as Paname () in French slang, but this vulgar appellation is gradually losing currency. (.) The inhabitants of Paris are known as Parisians in English, as Parisiens (Image:ltspkr.png) in French. The pejorative term Parigot (Image:ltspkr.png) is sometimes used in French slang. Locally, inhabitants of the Paris suburbs are known as banlieusards (Image:ltspkr.png). Inhabitants of the whole Paris metropolitan area are known as Franciliens (Image:ltspkr.png), i.e. from Île-de-France.

Geography

Coordinates

Paris is located at (48.866667, 2.333056). The city straddles a north-bending arc of the river Seine. This waterway is dotted with a few islands along its path through the city, and the largest and most central of these, the Île de la Cité, is the Capital's heart and origin.

Area

The city (commune) of Paris proper has an area of 105.398 km² (40.69 mi², or 26,044 acres). Excluding the outlying parks of Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes, the actual area of the city is only 86.928 km² (33.56 mi², or 21,480 acres), being in the form of an almost regular oval, with a circumference of 35.5 km (22 miles). This oval extends 9.5 km (6 miles) from north to south, and 11 km (7 miles) from east to west. circumference This is not a very large area, and in fact the commune of Paris is only the 113th largest commune of France (out of 36,782 communes). By comparison, Greater London has an area of 1,572 km² (607 mi²), and New York City has an area of 786 km² (303 mi²). This peculiar fact arises because, unlike other large western cities such as New York, London, or Berlin, whose territories were enlarged in the 20th century, the borders of Paris have not been changed since 1860 when Napoleon III and the prefect Haussmann annexed the then suburban communes surrounding Paris, such as Montmartre and Auteuil, more than doubling the the city's area to 78 km² (30.1 mi²), and creating the 20 arrondissements of Paris. Since 1860, the limits of Paris have only marginally changed, reaching the 86.9 km² figure indicated above. In 1929, the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes were officially incorporated into the city of Paris. Thus, the Brooklyn, Greenwich, or Charlottenburg of Paris are still outside the city of Paris proper, and it can be more accurately compared to the borough of Manhattan (59.5 km²/23 mi²) or to Inner London (319 km²/123 mi²). Even the largest business and financial district of Paris, known as La Défense, is outside the city boundary. The urban area (unité urbaine) of Paris, i.e. the contiguous built-up area, extends past the administrative city limits to cover 2,723 km² (1,051.4 mi²) (INSEE 1999), or an area about 26 times larger than the city itself. The metropolitan area (aire urbaine) of Paris, i.e. the built-up area plus the commuter belt, reaches in part beyond the surrounding Île-de-France administative région to cover 14,518 km² (5,605.5 mi²) (INSEE 1999), or an area 138 times larger than the city of Paris. région]]

Altitude

The altitude of Paris varies, with several prominent hills, of which the highest is Montmartre at 130m about sea level. The highest elevation in the urban area of Paris is in the Forest of Montmorency (Val-d'Oise département), 19.5 km. (12 miles) north-northwest of the center of Paris as the crow flies, at 195 metres (640 ft) above sea-level.

Temperatures

The lowest temperature recorded in central Paris (since 1873) was –23.9 °C (–11.0 °F) and –25.6 °C (–14.1 °F) in the southeastern suburb of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés on December 10, 1879 . The highest temperature was recorded on July 28, 1947 when the temperature in central Paris (Parc Montsouris) reached 40.4 °C (104.7 °F). During the European heat wave of 2003, which caused the death of many elderly people in France, the temperature in central Paris reached 38.1 °C (100.6 °F) (Parc Montsouris) and 40.2 °C (104.4 °F) at Le Bourget Airport in the northern suburbs. A record high night-time minimum of 25.5 °C (77.9 °F) in Parc Montsouris was set on August 11 and August 12, 2003.

History

Paris was occupied by a Gallic tribe until the Romans arrived in 52 BC. The invaders referred to the previous occupants as the Parisii, but called their new city Lutetia, meaning "marshy place". About 50 years later the city had spread to the left bank of the Seine, now known as the Latin Quarter (Le Quartier latin), and was renamed "Paris". Roman rule had ceased by 508, when Clovis the Frank made the city the capital of the Merovingian dynasty of the Franks. In 845, Paris was sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collected a huge ransom in exchange for leaving. Thereafter the weakness of the late Carolingian kings of France led to the gradual rise in power of the Counts of Paris; Odo, Count of Paris was elected king of France by feudal lords while Charles III was also claiming the throne. Finally, in 987 Hugh Capet, count of Paris, was elected king of France by the great feudal lords after the last Carolingian king died. Hugh Capet, 1789]] In the 12th and 13th centuries the city grew strongly. Main thoroughfares were paved, the first Louvre was built as a fortress, and several churches, including the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, were constructed or begun. Several schools on the Left Bank were grouped together into the Sorbonne, which counts Albertus Magnus and St. Thomas Aquinas among its early scholars. In the Middle Ages, Paris prospered as a trading and intellectual nucleus, interrupted temporarily when the Black Death struck in the 14th century, and again in the 15th century when urban revolts drove the royal court to abandon the city for almost 100 years. In the 18th century, the royal residence was moved from Paris to nearby Versailles. The French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. From the establishment of the French Second Empire in 1852 until 1914, Paris experienced the largest development in its history. The famous Parisian Haussmann Style dates back to this period, during which much of the Paris known today was planned and constructed. For the World's Fair of 1889 which commemorated the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, the Eiffel Tower was built, the best-known landmark in Paris and tallest structure in the world until 1930. The large scale display of electricity and light bulbs at the world's fairs of 1889 and 1900, which was a first in the world, earned Paris the nickname "City of Lights". During World War I, Paris was at the forefront of the war effort, having been spared invasion by the German Army due to the French and English victory at the First Battle of the Marne in 1914. In the Interwar period, Paris was famed for its cultural and artistic life, as well as its nightlife. From Russian exiled artists fleeing the Bolsheviks (such as composer Igor Stravinsky), to Spanish painters (such as Picasso or Dalí), to US writers (such as Hemingway), Paris became a melting pot of artists from all around the world. In June 1940, five weeks after the start of the German attack on France, a partially-evauated Paris fell to German occupation forces, who remained there until late August 1944. Paris was fortunate to be the one of the few large cities in Europe that suffered almost no destruction from the war, preserving its 19th century architecture intact. In the post-war period, Paris experienced its largest development since the end of the Belle Époque in 1914. The suburbs around the city proper (commune) of Paris began to expand considerably, with the construction of large social estates known as cités and the beginning of the business district La Défense. In the late 1960s, the Tour Montparnasse, a large, modern skyscraper, was built just south of the Jardin du Luxembourg. Its controversial height and location sparked immediate changes in zoning and administrative rules that now restrict skyscrapers to La Défense. Since the mid-1980s, there has been periodic unrest, sometimes degenerating into riots, in the poor immigrant neighbourhoods of the outer suburbs of Paris, especially in the cités, which have gradually become ghettos. In late 2005 a wave of riots erupted in the Paris suburbs, with thousands of cars and tens of public buildings burnt.

Demographics

wave of riots erupted in the Paris suburbs.]]

Density

At the 1999 French census the population density in the city of Paris was 20,164 inh. per km² (52,225 inh. per sq. mile). Excluding the outlying parks of Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes, the density in the city was actually 24,448 inh. per km² (63,321 inh. per sq. mile). As a matter of comparison, the density in Manhattan at the 2000 US census was 25,846 inh. per km² (66,940 inh. per sq. mile), and the density in Inner London at the 2001 UK census was 8,663 inh. per km² (22,438 inh. per sq. mile). The population density in the city of Paris is very high compared to those of most western cities, which are rarely as crowded as Paris (except for Manhattan). The density in Paris is comparable to the densities met within Asian cities. In many western cities, people have left the city center in the 20th century to relocate to the distant suburbs, leaving the city center as a business district dead at night. Although the city of Paris has also experienced a decline in population since the 1920s, it has nonetheless seen fewer inhabitants relocating to the suburbs than has occurred in other western cities. More precisely, people relocating to the suburbs were for the most part replaced by new people attracted to an urban lifestyle, and buildings were not converted into offices as systematically as has happened elsewhere, such as in London where the inhabitants have left the city center since the Second World War, and the density of Inner London is now much lower than that of Paris. This is most striking in the medieval heart of both metropolises: the City of London and the four first arrondissements of Paris were the medieval heart of each metropolis, with densities reaching 75,000 to 100,000 inh. per km² before the Industrial Revolution. Today, the City of London is almost empty, with a population density of only 2,478 inh. per km² (6,417 inh. per sq. mile) in 2001, whereas the four first arrondissements of Paris still have a density of 18,139 inh. per km² (46,979 inh. per sq. mile) in 1999, seven times more dense than in the City of London. Today, the most crowded arrondissement in the city of Paris is the 11th arrondissement, with a density reaching 40,672 inh. per km² (105,339 inh. per sq. mile) in 1999. Some neighborhoods in the east of this arrondissement are known to have densities of almost 100,000 inh. per km² (260,000 inh. per sq. mile).

Population Growth

At the 1999 census, the population of the city of Paris (excluding suburbs) was 2,125,246. The population of the metropolitan area of Paris was 11,174,743. Historically, the population of the city of Paris peaked in 1921, when it reached 2.9 million. However, there has been since then a movement toward living in suburbs, as well as the gentrification of many areas of inner Paris, and the use of available space for offices rather than dwellings, although this phenomenon was not as massive as happened in London or in American cities. These tendencies are controversial, and the current city administration is trying to reverse them. As a matter of fact, as of February 2004 estimates, the population of the city reached 2,142,800 inhabitants, increasing for the first time since 1954. As for the metropolitan area, it reached approximately 11.5 million inhabitants in 2004, growing twice as fast in the 2000s as it did in the 1990s. The metropolitan area of Paris has been in continuous expansion since the end of the French Wars of Religion at the end of the 16th century (with only brief setbacks during the French Revolution and World War II). As can be seen from the figures, only 18.5% of the inhabitants of the metropolitan area of Paris live inside the city of Paris, while 81.5% live in the suburbs. Visitors to Paris, who mostly stay inside the city, are usually not aware that 81.5% of "Parisians" actually live outside of the city itself, in its very extended suburbs. A majority of Parisians also work outside of the city proper: at the 1999 census, there were 5,089,179 jobs in the metropolitan area of Paris, 32.5% of which were located in the city of Paris proper, while 67.5% were located outside of the city. These peculiar facts are due to the conservativeness of French administrative limits (see Geography section above). For comparisons, in the metropolitan area of London, approximately 60% of people live inside Greater London proper (2001 census), while in the New York-Newark-Bridgeport metropolitan area, 37.8% of people live inside New York City (2000 census). Even in the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County metropolitan area, 22.6% of people live inside the city of Los Angeles proper. Paris can be more rightly compared to the San Francisco Bay Area, where only 11% of inhabitants live inside the city of San Francisco proper. However, unlike in the San Francisco Bay Area, there is no city inside the metropolitan area of Paris that rivals Paris, the largest city (commune) after Paris being Boulogne-Billancourt, with only 108,300 inhabitants in 2004. :See also: Historical population tables

Muséification

As a result, a so-called "muséification" (museumification) of the city of Paris is feared. Already, all airports, the largest financial and business district (La Défense), the main food wholesale market (Rungis), major renowned schools (École Polytechnique, HEC, ESSEC, INSEAD, etc.), research laboratories (in Saclay or Évry), the largest sport stadium (Stade de France), and even some ministries (Ministry of Transportation) are now located outside of the city of Paris. Similarly, the National Archives of France are due to relocate to the northern suburbs before 2010. It is feared that the city of Paris is turning into a museum for tourists and Amélie nostalgists, while the real economic activity and 21st century development take place elsewhere in the metropolitan area. With some of the most stringent protection laws in the world, it is virtually impossible to build new buildings inside the city. Recent proposals by Paris' new mayor, Bertrand Delanoë to gather renowned architects to build skyscrapers on the outskirts of the city center, have been met with strong opposition on all sides. Delanoë wished to scrap the building height limit dating back to Haussmann in the 19th century, and build upwards to compensate for the lack of space on the ground, as was done in Manhattan. The project also aimed to revitalise Paris in the 21st century, rivaling world cities like Shanghai, or even London where city planners have started building aesthetically acclaimed skyscrapers inside the City. The probable failure of the project may be seen as another sign of the "muséification" of the city of Paris.

Immigration

The metropolitan area of Paris is one of the most multi-cultural in Europe. At the 1999 census, 19.4% of the total population of the metropolitan area were born outside of metropolitan France. As a comparison: at the 2001 UK census, 19.5% of the total population of the metropolitan area of London was born outside of the (metropolitan) United Kingdom, while at the 2000 US census 27.5% of the total population of the New York-Newark-Bridgeport metropolitan area was born outside of the United States (50 states), and 31.9% of the total population of the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County metropolitan area was born outside of the United States (50 states). Still at the 1999 French census, 4.2% of the total population of the metropolitan area of Paris were recent migrants (i.e. people who were not living in France in 1990). The most recent immigrants to Paris come essentially from mainland China and from Africa.

Economy

. See main article for references concerning the figures cited here.

Size

Africa The metropolitan area of Paris is one of the engines of the global economy. In 2003 the GDP of the metropolitan area of Paris as calculated by INSEE and Eurostat was €448,933 million, or US$506.7 billion (at real exchange rates, not at PPP). If it were a country, the metropolitan area of Paris would be the 15th largest economy in the world (as of 2003), above Brazil (US$492.3 billion) and Russia (US$432.9 billion). Year in, year out, the metropolitan area of Paris accounts for about 29% of the total GDP of metropolitan France, although its population is only 18.7% of the total population of metropolitan France (as of 2004). In 2002, according to Eurostat, the GDP of the metropolitan area of Paris accounted alone for 4.5% of the total GDP of the European Union (of 25 members), although its population is only 2.45% of the total population of the EU25. Although in terms of population the Paris metropolitan area is only approximately the 20th largest metropolitan area in the world, its GDP is the sixth largest in the world after the metropolitan areas of Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, London and Osaka. At the 1999 census there were 5,089,170 persons employed in the metropolitan area of Paris, 31.5% of whom worked inside the city of Paris proper and 16% in the Hauts-de-Seine (92) département, home of the new La Défense business district, to the west of the city proper, while the remaining 52.5% worked in the suburbs.

Economic sectors

The economy of Paris is extremely diverse and has not yet adopted a specialization inside the global economy (unlike Los Angeles with the entertainment industry, or London with financial services). The tourism industry, for instance, employs only 3.6% of the total workforce of the metropolitan area (as of 1999) and is by no means a major component of the economy. The Paris economy is essentially a service economy. Its manufacturing base is still important, the Paris metropolitan area remaining one of the manufacturing powerhouses of Europe, but it is declining, while there is a clear shift of the Paris economy towards high value-added services, in particular services. Reflecting the diversity of the Paris economy, at the 1999 census 16.5% of the 5,089,170 persons employed in the metropolitan area worked in business services, 13.0% in commerce (retail and wholesale trade), 12.3% in manufacturing, 10.0% in public administrations and defense, 8.7% in health services, 8.2% in transportation and communications, 6.6% in education, and the remaining 24.7% in many other economic sectors. Among the manufacturing sector, the largest employers were the electronic and electrical industry (17.9% of the total manufacturing workforce in 1999) and the publishing and printing industry (14.0% of the total manufacturing workforce), the remaining 68.1% of the manufacturing workforce being distributed among many other industries.

Administration

printing Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements, numbered in a clockwise spiral outwards from the Ier arrondissement at the center of the city. Two parks on the edge of the city proper, Bois de Boulogne on the west and Bois de Vincennes on the east, belong to the 16th and 12th arrondissements respectively. Citizens of each arrondissement elect a local council, which in turn elects the mayor of the arrondissement. A selection of members from each arrondissement council form the Council of Paris, which itself has the dual function of being council for the Paris municipality and for Paris as a départment. The Council of Paris elects the mayor of Paris. mayor of Paris mayor of Paris has been the Mayor of Paris since March 18, 2001]] It must be noted that modern Paris had no Mayor before 1977. Paris in fact has yet to completely emerge from the "prefecture" administrative system created by Bonaparte in 1800; its laws are still governed by its State-appointed Prefecture of Police (as is its Fire Brigade) and has no municipal police force, although it does have its own traffic wardens. The city of Paris also has other jurisdictional titles: it is a commune and also a département. As a département, until 1968 it stretched beyond its city limits as a Département 75 (or Seine département) to include its immediate suburbs, but that year it was split into four: Paris proper (75) became a smaller département, and in a ring around it three others were created: (Hauts-de-Seine (92), Seine-Saint-Denis (93) and Val-de-Marne (94)). Returning to the Prefecture of Police jurisdiction, it still governs Paris and its closest départements as a unique "Prefecture de Paris". From 1986 Paris became the capital of an Île-de-France région of eight départements: itself as a département, the three abovementioned départements and a yet larger concentric circle of four much larger départements. The three inner département are generally called "la petite couronne", or "small crown", and the outer and larger four "la grande couronne". The Île-de-France région has its own administration, as well as each of the départements in the petite couronne and grande couronne. : See also: Paris mayors (comprehensive list)

Transport

Paris mayors Paris mayors Paris is served by two principal airports: Orly Airport, which is south of Paris, and the Charles De Gaulle International Airport in nearby Roissy-en-France. A third and much smaller airport, at the town of Beauvais, 70 km (45 mi) to the north of the city, is used by charter and low-cost airlines. Le Bourget airport nowadays only hosts business jets, air trade shows and the aerospace museum. Paris is a central hub of the national rail network of very fast (TGV) and normal (Corail) trains, which interconnects with a high-speed regional network, the RER. Six major railway stations, Gare du Nord, Gare Montparnasse, Gare de l'Est, Gare de Lyon, Gare d'Austerlitz, and Gare Saint-Lazare connect this train network to the world famous and highly efficient underground metro system, the Métro. This latter is a network of 380 stations (more than the London Underground) connected by 221.6km of rails There are two tangential tramway lines in the suburbs: Line T1 runs from Saint-Denis to Noisy-le-Sec, line T2 runs from La Défense to Issy. A third line along the southern inner orbital road is currently under construction. Administratively speaking, the public transportation networks of the Paris region are coordinated by the Syndicat des transports d'Île-de-France (STIF), formerly Syndicat des transports parisiens (STP). [http://www.stif-idf.fr/ official site] Members of the syndicate include the RATP, which operates the Parisian and some suburban busses, the Métro, and sections of the RER; the SNCF, which operates the rest of the RER and the suburban train lines; and other operators. The city is also the hub of France's motorway network, and is surrounded by an orbital road, the Périphérique, which roughly follows the path of final, 19th-century fortifications around Paris. On/off ramps of the Périphérique are called 'Portes', as they correspond to the former city gates in these fortifications. Most of these 'Portes' have parking areas and a metro station, where non-residents are advised to leave cars. Traffic in Paris is notoriously heavy, slow and tiresome. :See also: Transport in France

Cultural Centres and Organisations

Transport in France Transport in France basilica on Montmartre.]]

Monuments and Landmarks

The three most famous landmarks of Paris are almost certainly the Eiffel Tower, originally a "temporary" construction for the 1889 Universal Expositon, the Arc de Triomphe, commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte and the cathedral Notre Dame de Paris, a 12th-century ecclesiastical masterpiece. Other than the Eiffel Tower, the lone skyscraper Tour Montparnasse and Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on the hill Montmartre are easily visible from many locations around the city, while the window-shaped Grande Arche in La Défense marks the west.

Museums

Paris landmarks's most famous treasures.]]
- Louvre - a huge museum housing many works of art, including the Mona Lisa (La Joconde) and the Venus de Milo statue.
- Musée d'Orsay - an art museum housed in a converted 19th century railway station, which contains mainly Impressionist works.
- Centre Georges Pompidou, also known as Beaubourg - houses the Musée National d'Art Moderne and a cultural center with a large public library. Famous for its external skeleton of service pipes.
- Musée Rodin - a large collection of works by France's most famous sculptor
- Musée du Montparnasse in the former residence of artist Marie Vassilieff at 21 Avenue du Maine, details the history of the great artistic community of Montparnasse.
- Musée Cluny, also known as the Musée National du Moyen-Age, houses a large collection of art and artifacts from the Middle Ages, including the tapestry cycle The Lady and the Unicorn.
- Musée Picasso, exhibits nearly 3000 pieces of art by Pablo Picasso as well as art from his own personal collection including works by Cézanne and Matisse.

Historical Centres


- Montmartre - historic area on the Butte, home to the Basilica of the Sacré Coeur and also famous for the studios and cafés of many great artists.
- Champs-Élysées - a 17th-century garden promenade turned Avenue connection between the Concorde and Arc de Triomphe.
- Place de la Concorde - at the foot of the Champs-Élysées, built as the "Place Louis XV" site of the infamous guillotine. The Egyptian obleisk it holds today can be considered Paris's "oldest monument".
- Place de la Bastille - Former eastern stronghold and gate of Paris.
- Montparnasse - historic area on the Left Bank, famous for the its artists studios, music-halls, and café life.
- Quartier Latin - Paris's scholastic center from the 12th century, formerly stretching between the Left Bank's place Maubert and the Sorbonne university. Sorbonne in Paris. Given to the city in 1885, it faces west, toward the original Liberty in New York City.]]

Cemeteries

Many of Paris's illustrious historical figures have found rest in Père Lachaise Cemetery. Other notable cemeteries include Cimetière de Montmartre, Cimetière du Montparnasse, Cimetière de Passy and the Catacombs of Paris

Parks and Gardens

. Two of Paris's most famous gardens are the Tuileries Garden on the banks of the Seine next to the Louvre and the centrally-located Luxembourg Garden, which used to belong to a château built for the Marie de' Medici. During the Second Empire, Napoleon III created three vast gardens on the outskirts of Paris: Montsouris, Buttes Chaumont in the northeast, and Parc Monceau, formerly known as the folie de Chartres, in the northwest. On the western and eastern perimeters respectively are the two "forests", the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes.

Districts


- Les Halles - shopping precinct around an important metro connection station.
- Le Marais - trendy district on the Right Bank with large gay and Jewish populations
- l'Opéra - Shopping area with department stores such as Printemps and Galeries Lafayette

Boutiques, Department Stores and Hotels

Paris is famous for gastronomical establishments like Fauchon (delicatessen), near the Église de la Madeleine, or Berthillon (ice cream) on Île-Saint-Louis. Its department stores, e.g. Galeries Lafayette, Samaritaine (currently closed) or Printemps, are remarkable not only for the wide range of items they sell but also for their 19th-century or Art Nouveau architecture. Paris also hosts a number of famous hotels. The most prestigious are probably the Hôtel de Crillon on Place de la Concorde, and the nearby Hôtel Ritz Paris on Place Vendôme.

Nightlife


- Le Lido - cabaret on the Champs-Élysées famous for its exotic shows and where, as an American GI on leave with some army friends, Elvis Presley gave an impromptu concert.
- Moulin Rouge, Le Crazy Horse Saloon, Folies Bergères - other famous cabarets
- the Paris Olympia, le Zenith, Bercy, Bobino - concert halls
- The Buddha Bar, Barfly, Hotel Costes, Georges - trendy upscale restaurant / bars to see and be seen.
- Les Bains-Douches, le Man Ray, l'Elysée Montmartre, le Queen - famous and trendy nightclubs.
- The Rex Club, Le Tryptique, Le Batofar- good places for electro music (techno, electro-rock, D&B).

Sports Clubs

Paris's main sports clubs are Paris Saint-Germain, Football (soccer) club, Paris Basket Racing, Basketball team and Stade Français, Rugby union club.

Suburban Areas of Interest


- Business district
  - La Défense - major office, cinema and shopping complex, west of Paris.
  - Grande Arche de la Défense - built in line with the Louvre, place du Concorde and Arc de Triomphe.
- Chateaux and churches
  - Palace of Versailles - the former royal palace of Louis XIV and later kings, in the town of Versailles to the southeast of Paris.
  - Vaux-le-Vicomte, near Melun, a smaller palace on which Versailles was modelled.
  - Saint Denis Basilica - ancient Gothic Cathedral and burial site for many French monarchs, located north of the city.
- Civil Constructions
  - Arcueil Aqueduct - built in the 17th century and raised in 1874, it channels water from sources 156km to the south of Paris to the Montsouris reservoirs.
- Recreation parks and areas
  - Parc Astérix
  - Disneyland Resort Paris

References

# INSEE. Recensement de la population 1999. Paris. [http://www.recensement.insee.fr/FR/ST_ANA/D75/POPALLPOP1POP1AD75FR.html "Population totale par sexe et âge"]. Retrieved December 1, 2005. # INSEE. Recensement de la population 1999. Île-de-France. [http://www.recensement.insee.fr/FR/ST_ANA/R11/POPALLPOP1POP1AR11FR.html "Population totale par sexe et âge"]. Retrieved December 1, 2005. # INSEE - Comptes régionaux - données 2003 semi-définitives en base 2 000. [http://www.insee.fr/fr/insee_regions/idf/rfc/chifcle_fiche.asp?ref_id=ecotc001&tab_id=1070 "Produit intérieur brut (PIB) à prix courants."]. Retrieved December 1, 2005.

External links


- [http://www.wikitravel.org/en/article/Paris Wikitravel:Guide to Paris]
- [http://www.paris.fr/en/ English version of official site]
  - [http://www.paris.fr/ Official Paris website]
- [http://en.parisinfo.com/ English version of official Paris tourist office website]
  - [http://fr.parisinfo.com/ Official Paris Tourist Office website]
- [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=paris,+france&spn=0.131836,0.176468&t=k&hl=en Google Maps satellite images of Paris] als:Paris (Stadt) ko:파리 시 ja:パリ simple:Paris th:ปารีส

Basketball

Basketball is a ball sport in which, under organized rules, two teams of five players each try to score points by throwing a ball through a hoop. It is primarily an indoor sport, played in a relatively small playing area, called the court. The speed and grace of the game, combined with the close proximity of the spectators to the action, make basketball an exciting spectator sport. Since its invention in 1891, it has developed and become a truly international sport.

History

Early basketball

Basketball is unique in that it was invented by one man, rather than evolving from a different sport. In 1891, Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian-born American minister on the faculty of a college for YMCA professionals (today, Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, sought a vigorous indoor game to keep young men occupied during the long New England winters. Legend has it that, after rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules, and nailed a peach basket onto the gym wall. The first official game was played in the YMCA gymnasium on January 20 1892. Then, there were nine players on the court in a court just half the size of an NBA court. "Basket ball", the name suggested by one of his students, was popular from the beginning, and with its early adherents being dispatched to YMCAs throughout the United States, the game was soon played all over the country. Interestingly, while the YMCA was responsible for initially developing and spreading the game, within a decade, it discouraged the new sport, as rough play and rowdy crowds began to detract from the YMCA's primary mission. Other amateur sports clubs, colleges, and professional clubs quickly filled the void. In the years before World War I, the Amateur Athletic Union and the Intercollegiate Athletic Association (forerunner of the NCAA) vied for control over the rules of the game. Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball. The first balls made specially for basketball were brown, and it was only in the late 1950s that Tony Hinkle, searching for a ball that would be more visible to players and spectators alike, introduced the orange ball that is now in common use.

College basketball and early leagues

Naismith himself was instrumental in establishing the college game, coaching at University of Kansas for six years before handing the reins to renowned coach Phog Allen. Naismith disciple Amos Alonzo Stagg brought basketball to the University of Chicago, while Adolph Rupp, a student of Naismith at Kansas, enjoyed great success as coach at the University of Kentucky. College leagues date back to the 1920s, and the first national championship tournament, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in New York, followed in 1938. College basketball was rocked by gambling scandals from 1948-1951, when dozens of players from top teams were implicated in game fixing and point-shaving. Partially spurred by the association of the NIT with many of the cheaters, the NCAA national tournament surpassed the NIT in importance. Today, the NCAA tournament is rivaled only by the baseball World Series and the Super Bowl of American football in the American sports psyche. In the 1920s, there were hundreds of professional basketball teams in towns and cities all over the United States. There was little organization to the professional game, as players jumped from team to team, and teams played in armories and smoky dance halls. Leagues came and went, and barnstorming squads such as the New York Rens and the Original Celtics played up to two hundred games a year on their national tours.

US high school basketball

Before widespread school district consolidation, most US high schools were far smaller than their present day counterparts and during the first decades of the 20th century basketball quickly became the ideal interscholastic sport due to its modest equipment and personnel requirements. In the days before widespread television coverage of professional and college sports, the popularity of high school basketball was unrivaled in many parts of America. Today, virtually every high school in the United States fields a basketball team in varsity competition, and its popularity remains high, both in rural areas where they carry the identification of the entire community, as well as at some larger schools known for their basketball teams where many players go on to participate at higher levels of competition after graduation. In the 2003-04 season, 1,002,797 boys and girls represented their schools in interscholastic basketball competition, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. The states of Indiana and Kentucky are particularly well known for their residents' devotion to high school basketball; the critically acclaimed film Hoosiers shows high school basketball's depth of meaning to these rural communities.

National Basketball Association

Hoosiers In 1946, the National Basketball Association (NBA) was formed, organizing the top professional teams and leading to greater popularity of the professional game. An upstart organization, the American Basketball Association, emerged in 1967 and briefly threatened the NBA's dominance until the rival leagues merged in 1976. The NBA has featured many famous players, including George Mikan, the first dominating "big man"; ball-handling wizard Bob Cousy and defensive genius Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics; Wilt Chamberlain (who originally played for the barnstorming "Harlem Globetrotters"); all-around stars Oscar Robertson and Jerry West; more recent big men Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton, playmaker John Stockton; and the three players who many credit with ushering the professional game to its highest level of popularity: Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan. The NBA-backed Women's National Basketball Association began play in 1997. As in the NBA, several marquee players (Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Sue Bird among others) have helped the league improve its popularity and level of competition. Other professional women's basketball leagues in the United States have folded in part because of the success of the WNBA.

International basketball

Sue BirdThe International Basketball Federation was formed in 1932 by eight founding nations: Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania and Switzerland. At this time, the organisation only oversaw amateur players. Its acronym, in French, was thus FIBA; the "A" standing for amateur. Basketball was first included in the Olympic Games in 1936, although a demonstration tournament was held back in 1904. This competition has usually been dominated by the United States, whose team has won all but three titles, the first loss in a controversial final game in Munich in 1972 against the Soviet Union. In 1950 the first World Championships for men were held in Argentina. Three years later, the first World Championships for women were held in Chile. Women's basketball was added to the Olympics in 1976, with teams such as Brazil and Australia rivaling the American squads. FIBA dropped the distinction between amateur and professional players in 1989, and in 1992, professional players played for the first time in the Olympic Games. The United States' dominance briefly resurfaced with the introduction of their Dream Team. However, with developing programs elsewhere, other national teams have now caught up with the United States. A team made entirely of NBA players finished sixth in the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis, behind Serbia and Montenegro, Argentina, Germany, New Zealand and Spain. In the 2004 Olympics, the United States suffered its first Olympic loss while using professional players, falling to the Puerto Rican national basketball team and eventually came in third after Argentina and Italy. World-wide, basketball tournaments are held for all age levels, from five- to six-year-olds (called biddy-biddy), to high school, college, and the professional leagues. Tournaments are held at each level for both boys and girls. The global popularity of the sport is reflected in the nationalities represented in the NBA. Players from all over the globe can be found in NBA teams. Steve Nash, who won the 2005 NBA MVP award as the Most Valuable Player in the NBA, is a South African-born Canadian player. Dallas Mavericks superstar, Dirk Nowitzki, was born in Germany and plays for the German national team. The all-tournament team at the most recent World Basketball Championships, held in 2002 in Indianapolis, demonstrates the globalization of the game equally dramatically. The team featured Nowitzki, Peja Stojakovic of Serbia and Montenegro, Manu Ginobili of Argentina, Yao Ming of China, and Pero Cameron of New Zealand; all except Cameron were or became NBA players.

Rules and regulations

:Main article: Rules of basketball Measurements and time limits referred to in this section often vary between tournaments and organisations; international and NBA rules are used in this section. The object of the game is to outscore one's opponents by throwing the ball through the opponents' basket from above while preventing the opponents from doing so on their own. An attempt to score in this way is called a shot. A successful shot is worth two points, or three points if it is taken from beyond the three-point arc which is 6.25 meters (20 ft 5 in) from the basket in international games and 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m) in NBA games. A successful free throw is worth one point.

Playing regulations

Games are played in four quarters of 10 (international) or 12 minutes (NBA). Fifteen minutes are allotted for a half-time break, and two minutes are allowed at the other breaks. Overtime periods are five minutes long. Teams exchange baskets for the second half. The time allotted is actual playing time; that is, the clock is stopped while the ball is not in play, for example when a violation or foul is committed or during free throws. Therefore, games generally take much longer; games of the length above realistically take around two hours. free throw A time-out is a clock stoppage requested by the coach of either team, during which he can talk to the team. A time-out lasts one minute in international basketball and either 60 seconds or 20 seconds in NBA basketball; time-outs can be extended to up to 100 seconds if a television commercial break is needed. The number of time-outs allowed in a game and in each period is limited, typically to five or six in a game. The game is controlled by the officials consisting of the referee, one or two umpires and the table officials. The table officials are responsible for keeping track of each teams scoring, timekeeping, individual and team fouls, player substitutions, team possession arrow (except in the NBA, Euroleague, and some amateur leagues), and the shot clock.

Equipment

Other than the ball, the only essential equipment in basketball is the court: a flat, rectangular surface with two baskets at opposite ends. At competitive levels, much more equipment may be needed, including clocks, scoresheets, scoreboards, foul markers, alternating possession arrows, and whistle-operated stop-clock systems. The men's ball's circumference is about 30 inches (76 cm) and weighs about 1 lb 5 oz (600 g). The women's ball's circumference is about 29 inches (730 cm) and weighs about 1 lb 3 oz (540 g). A regulation basketball court in international games is 28 by 15 meters (approx. 92 by 49 feet) and in the NBA is 94 by 50 feet (approx. 29 by 15 meters). Most courts are made of wood and have painted lines 2 inches (5 centimeters) wide to mark off the various sections. A basket and backboard hang over each end of the court. The basket consists of a cast-iron rim and a net, and is connected by supports to the backboard. At almost all levels of competition, the top of the rim is exactly 10 feet (3.05 m) above the court and 4 feet (1.21 m) inside the endline. While variation is possible in the dimensions of the court and backboard, it is generally considered mandatory for the rim to be the proper height. Even amateur players can detect a rim that is off by as little as a few inches, and practicing on a non-standard rim can cause a good shooter to lose the muscle memory necessary for a good shot.

Teams and uniforms

There are five players from each team on the court at any time. Teams can have up to seven substitutes. Substitutions are unlimited but can only be done when play is stopped. Teams also have a coach, who oversees the development and strategies of the team, and other team followers such as assistant coaches, managers, statisticians, doctors and trainers. basketball court For both men's and women's teams, a standard uniform consists of a pair of shorts and a sleeveless tank top with a clearly visible number printed on both the front and back. Players also wear high-top sneakers that provide extra ankle support. Often, team names and players' names and sometimes sponsors are printed on the uniforms too. For FIBA-sanctioned international tournaments, only numbers from 4 to 15 may be used. This enables referees to signal players' numbers to the scorer's table using their fingers. For domestic and continental competitions in most organised basketball, including the NBA, but excuding NFHS and NCAA competition, any number from 1 to 99, as well as 0 or 00 (but not both), are permitted. In NFHS and NCAA competition, players are limited to 0 or 00 (not both), and any number from 1-5, 10-15, 20-25, 30-35, 40-45, and 50-55. In the state of Iowa for girls only, home players must wear odd numbers and visiting players must wear even numbers. No two players of the same team may wear the same number.

Violations

The ball may be advanced toward the basket by being shot, passed between players, thrown, tapped, rolled or dribbled (bouncing the ball while running). The ball must stay within the court, though it is not considered out-of-bounds until the ball touches the ground or someone who is touching the ground that is out-of-bounds. The last team to touch the ball before it travels out of bounds forfeits possession. The ball-handler may not move both feet while he is holding the ball and not dribbling, known as travelling, nor may he dribble with both hands or catch the ball in between dribbles, a violation called double-dribbling. A player's hand must remain on top of the ball while dribbling, failure to do so is known as carrying the ball. A team, once having established ball control in the front half of the court, may not return the ball to the backcourt. No player may kick the ball or strike it with his fist. A violation of these rules results in loss of possession, or, if committed by the defense, a reset of the shot clock. There are limits imposed on the time taken before progressing the ball past halfway (8 seconds in international and NBA), before attempting a shot (24 seconds), holding the ball while closely guarded (5 seconds), and remaining in the restricted area (3 seconds -- in the NBA, this rule is for both offense and defense, as a defensive violation results in a free throw attempt). These rules are designed to reward good defense. No player may interfere with the ball or basket on its downward flight to the basket, or while it is on the ring (or, in the NBA, while it is directly above the basket), a violation known as goaltending. If a defensive player goaltends, the attempted shot is considered to have been successful. If a teammate of the shooter or dribbler goaltends, the basket is cancelled and the team loses possession.

Fouls

:Main articles: Personal foul, Technical foul An attempt to unfairly disadvantage an opponent through personal contact is illegal and is called a foul. These are most commonly committed by defensive players; however, they can be committed by offensive players as well. Players who are fouled either receive the ball to pass inbounds again, or receive one or more free throws if they are fouled in the act of shooting, depending on whether the shot was successful. One point is awarded for making a free throw, which is attempted from a line 4.5 metres (15 feet) from the basket. There is some discretion with the referee when calling a foul — they consider if there was unfair advantage gained, for example, a player gained possession unfairly. This makes fouls sometimes controversial calls. Contact in basketball is unavoidable, and the calling of a foul can vary between games, leagues and even between referees. A player or coach who shows poor sportsmanship, for instance, by arguing with a referee or by fighting with another player, can be charged with a technical foul. The penalty involves free throws and varies between leagues; repeated incidents can result in disqualification. Blatant fouls with excessive contact or that are not an attempt to play the ball are called unsportsmanlike fouls (or flagrant fouls in the NBA, intentional fouls in the NCAA) and incur a harsher penalty; in some rare cases a disqualifying foul will require the player to leave the playing area. Effective in 2004, two unsportsmanlike fouls in a match resulted in a player being disqualified. If a team surpasses a preset limit of team fouls in a given period (quarter or half) – four for international and NBA games – the opposing team is awarded two free throws on all subsequent defensive fouls for that period. In NCAA and US high school play, one free throw is awarded for a team's seventh foul in a half, with a second awarded either if he is successful on the first attempt, or on a team's tenth and subsequent foul in a half. If a player commits five fouls (including technical fouls) in one game (in a league where a game consists of four twelve-minute periods, including the NBA, six fouls), he is not allowed to participate for the rest of the game, and is described as having "fouled out". In the NBA, however, when a team is reduced to five players, once a player commits his sixth foul, he remains in the game, and one additional free-throw is awarded to the free-throw shooter in addition to any free throw attempts awarded for the foul. In the case of an offensive foul past the limit, one free throw is still awarded. A similar rule is used if a team reduced to five players has a player who must leave the game because of injury, as he must be replaced by the last player who left the game because of committing six fouls.

Common techniques and practice

Positions

During the first five decades of basketball's evolution, a player occupied one of three positions, as follows: two guards, two forwards, and one center. Since the 1980s, more specific positions have evolved, as follows: #Point guard #Shooting guard #Small forward #Power forward #Center On some occasions, teams will choose to use a three guard offense, replacing one of the forwards or the center with a third guard. The distinction in positions is important mainly in coaching; any of the 5 players may shoot, pass or otherwise take any legal action at any time.

Shooting

Center To shoot, the player holds the ball in both hands, with the shooting hand (usually the shooter's dominant hand) under the ball and the ball resting only on the top parts of the shooter's fingers, similar to a waiter carrying a tray. The ball is shot toward the target by extending the shooting arm and wrist in a half-arc until the fingers are pointing toward the floor. The ball rolls off the finger tips while the wrist completes a full downward flex motion. The shooting elbow is extended upward, starting its extension from approximately a 90 degree flex to nearly straight. Generally, the non-shooting hand and arm are not used in the shot, except to maintain the ball's position on the shooting hand. The two most common shots are the set shot and the jump shot. The jump shot is by far the most common, with the set shot used mainly for free throw attempts. The set shot is taken from a standing position, with neither foot leaving the floor during the shot. The jump shot is taken from a mid-air position: the player flexes at the knees and jumps before shooting near the top of the jump. The power of the jump shot comes from the legs, giving the player a much longer range, and also allowing the player to elevate over the defender to get a better look at the basket. After release, the ball should have a steady backspin, deadening the ball upon impact with the rim. The ideal trajectory of the shot is somewhat arguable, but generally coaches will profess proper arch. The ball should pass well above the hoop, depending on the length of the shot, and travel downward into the basket to create the best angle for success. Most players try to shoot directly into the basket, but certain situations may call for the shooter to use the backboard to redirect the ball into the basket. The best shooters have great hand and eye coordination, excellent balance, and courage under pressure. Spotting a shooting opportunity is as important as basic technique; top players at the professional level rarely miss when given an unguarded look at the basket. Practice is a key element as well, of course. Many players will linger for hours after a practice session, taking hundreds of shots from various angles to perfect their technique.

Passing

A pass is a method of moving the ball between players. Most passes are accompanied by a step forward to increase power and are followed through with the hands to ensure accuracy. One of the most basic passes is the chest pass. The ball is passed directly from the passer's chest to the receiver's chest. This has the advantage that it takes the least time to complete, as the passer tries to pass as directly straight as possible. Another type of pass is the bounce pass. In this pass, the ball bounces about two-thirds of the way from the passer. Like the chest pass, it is passed from the passer's chest to the receiver's chest, and it is passed as directly as possible, for example, there should be no downward motion of the ball between the bounce and the time the receiver catches it. In this way, it is completed in the smallest amount of time possible for this pass. It does take longer to complete than the chest pass, but it is more difficult for the opposing team to intercept (kicking the ball deliberately is a violation). Thus, in crowded moments, or to pass the ball around a defender, this pass is often used. The overhead pass is used to pass the ball over a defender. The ball is passed from behind the passer's head, coming over it and aiming for around the chin of the receiver. This pass is also a fairly direct pass and can cover more distance than a chest pass. A pass is not necessarily always between two players a distance from each other; sometimes a clever cut by a team-mate can mean that a pass is to a team-mate who is in motion but at the time of passing next to the passer. The most important aspect of a good pass is that it is difficult for the defense to intercept. For this reason, large arc-shaped passes are almost always avoided and cross-court passes, called skip passes, are only used in certain situations.

Dribbling

Dribbling is the act of bouncing the ball continuously. When a player dribbles, he or she pushes the ball down towards the ground, rather than patting it, because this ensures greater control. When dribbling past an opponent, the dribbler should dribble with the hand furthest from the player. It is therefore important for a basketballer