Introduction: The Official Basketball Court
The basketball court has very peculiar markings that can confuse those who are not familiar with the sport.
In The Official Basketball Court, Physical Education Tips will explain the issues related to the basketball court, such as the size of the basketball court, the height of the basketball basket, the 3-point line, the Bottleneck and the new updated basketball court markings.
How big is the basketball court?
The basketball court measures 28 meters long by 15 meters wide, measured from the inside edge of the lines. These are official CBB and FIBA measurements
The surface of the basketball court
The basketball court must be flat, hard and free of obstacles.
The Lines of the Basketball Court
The lines on the basketball court are 5 centimetres wide and must be painted white.
Basketball court boundary lines
The basketball court has four boundary lines, two side lines and two end or back lines. The boundary lines are not part of the playing court.
Any obstacle outside the playing court must be at least two meters away from the boundary lines.
Center line, center circle and free-throw semicircles
- The centre line is marked in the middle of the court parallel to the end lines and extends 15 centimetres beyond the side lines.
- The central circle is marked in the center of the court and has a radius of 1.8 meters.
- The free-throw semicircles have a radius of 1.80 meters measured from the midpoint of the free-throw line.
The Free Throw Lines
The free-throw line must be marked parallel to each end line (baseline). It must be 5.80 meters from the end line and have a length of 3.60 meters.
The Restricted Area (Bottle)
The Basketball Restricted Area is a rectangular area, limited by the end lines, the free throw lines and their extension and by two side boundary lines 4.90 meters apart. These lines, excluding the end lines, form part of the restricted area. The inside of the restricted areas must be painted in a single color.
The 3-point line on the basketball court
The 3-point line is an arc with a radius of 6.75 meters from the ground exactly at the midpoint under the basket. The 3-point line must be 90 centimeters from the sidelines.
The 3-point line is not part of the 3-point basket area, i.e. if an athlete executes a shot by stepping over the 3-point line, it will not be considered a 3-point shot.
Team bench area
The team bench areas must be marked outside the playing court, limited by 2 lines 2 meters long from the side line of the court.
In each bench area there must be 14 seats available for members of a team who are not on the court: coaches, substitute players, excluded players and other members of the team’s coaching staff. Any other persons must remain at least 2 m behind the team bench.
The ball replacement lines
These are 2 lines 15 centimetres long marked outside the playing court on the sideline opposite the control table, with their outer edge situated 8.325 metres from the inner edge of the nearest end line.
Offensive no-load semicircle area
These are semicircles in which offensive charges will not be taken into account and must be marked on the playing court with their inner edge being 1.25 meters from the midpoint of the basket, projected onto the ground. An offensive charging foul must never be called if the attacker’s contact with a defender occurs within the non-offensive charging semicircle.
The lines of the no-load semicircles are part of the no-load areas.
Basketball court equipment
The following equipment is needed on a basketball court:
- Tables and their supports, including:
- Tables themselves
- Baskets, including hoops and nets
Support structures, including protections:
- Basketballs
- Game timer
- Marking board
- 14/24 second device
- 2 strong, separate and unmistakably distinct beeps, one for each:
- 14/24 second operator
- Marker/Timer
- Signs indicating player absences
- Signs of missing teams
- Alternating possession arrow
More Basketball content
- Basketball Fundamentals
- Summary of the Official Rules of Basketball
- Basketball Rules and Fundamentals
- The History of Basketball
- Basketball court video
- Basketball Rules Video
- Basketball Initiation