Balls

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately 9.4 inches (24 cm) in diameter) through the defender's hoop (a basket 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter mounted 10 feet (3.048 m) high to a backboard at each end of the court, while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated.

James Naismith (November 6, 1861 – November 28, 1939) was a Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, sports coach, and innovator. The same year he left Canada for Springfield, Massachusetts, he invented the game of basketball. He wrote the original basketball rule book and founded the University of Kansas basketball program. Naismith lived to see basketball adopted as an Olympic demonstration sport in 1904 and as an official event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, as well as the birth of the National Invitation Tournament (1938) and the NCAA Tournament (1939).

Air Jordan is an American brand of basketball shoes, athletic, casual, and style clothing produced by Nike. Founded in Chicago, Air Jordan was created for Hall of Fame former basketball player Michael Jordan during his time with the Chicago Bulls. The original Air Jordan sneakers were produced exclusively for Michael Jordan in late 1984, and released to the public on April 1, 1985. The shoes were designed for Nike by Peter Moore, Tinker Hatfield, and Bruce Kilgore.

Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, sport shoes or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used for everyday wear. The term generally describes a type of footwear with a flexible sole made of rubber or synthetic material and an upper part made of leather, synthetic substitutes or cloth.

A slam dunk, also simply dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by putting the ball directly through the basket with one or both hands above the rim. It is considered a type of field goal; if successful, it is worth two points. Such a shot was known as a "dunk shot" until the term "slam dunk" was coined by former Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn.

In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. In professional or organized basketball, especially when played indoors, it is usually made out of a wood, often maple, and highly polished and completed with a 10 foot rim. Outdoor surfaces are generally made from standard paving materials such as concrete or asphalt.

The five basketball positions normally employed by organized basketball teams are the point guard (PG), the shooting guard (SG), the small forward (SF), the power forward (PF), and the center (C).

The original American Basketball Association (ABA) was a men's professional basketball league, from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading several teams to join the National Basketball Association and the introduction of the 3-point shot in the NBA.

Polara Golf is a brand of golf equipment, focused on balls and clubs, released to market in 1977. Products under the Polara name have been manufactured by different companies, the last being Aero X-Golf Inc., which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2017.

A tennis ball is a ball designed for the sport of tennis. Tennis balls are fluorescent yellow at major sporting events, but in recreational play can be virtually any color. Tennis balls are covered in a fibrous felt which modifies their aerodynamic properties, and each has a white curvilinear oval covering it.