The Similarities And Differences Between Basketball And The NBA

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Since its creation in 1893, the sport of basketball has been one of the most popular sports in the United States. One wouldn’t have to search long to find a basketball court and a pickup game in most American cities. Many people around the world look up to the stars of the National Basketball Association as role models. Despite the vast popularity of basketball, there is only one major league in America: The National Basketball Association, to be referred to in this work as the NBA. The NBA was created in 1946, and in 1976 it merged with the ABA to become the premier league in America. The League has expanded over the years and now consists of 29 teams in the United States and one team in Canada, with each team playing 82 games per season …show more content…

While the length and width of the courts are the same between the two, the three-point line is four feet farther from the basket in the NBA. The NBA’s three-point line also consists of a straight line on both sides leading to a semicircle, whereas the NCAA’s three-point line is simply a semicircle with ends on the baselines. This is the main difference between the two courts, and is the only difference affecting the game …show more content…

However, these are not the only differences. With the fact that there are many more teams in the NCAA, many teams and players go under the radar. Even the best teams can slip through a season without getting much media coverage, which leads to more surprises in the playoffs. By contrast, in the NBA every team and most players get some sort of attention, and even role players who sit on the bench most of the game could get coverage. Another big difference is the fact that there are many more games in the NBA, so teams can lose a game and not be too unnerved. In the NCAA, the playoff brackets are determined by analysts and experts, meaning a loss against a great team can mean more than a win against a bad

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