ACOG - Basketball - IBM

Spectator's Guide to Basketball

The Tournament

The 12 teams in the Olympic tournament compete in two-round robin pools with the top four teams in each pool advancing to a direct-elimination tournament featuring quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. Classification games also are played to determine fifth through 12th place.

What to Watch

With the introduction of professional players to the Olympic tournament, the basketball competition has become as much of a "who to watch" as a "what to watch."

The world's greatest players now compete for the gold medal while offering fans a dazzling display of individual skills and a near telepathic sense of precision teamwork.

A team's strategy often depends on the individual matchups on the court. Taller teams generally optimize their height advantage by passing the ball to their towering players for close-range, high-percentage shots. Quicker teams will take advantage of their superior speed with a pressing defense and a fastbreak offense while teams with long-range sharpshooters benefit from the 3-point shot.

Some rules differ slightly between the Federation International de Basketball (FIBA), the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), so know the rules before yelling for a goal tending call or encouraging an extra timeout.

Basketball Rule Book

Whether the sport is played in the Olympic Games, the NBA, the NCAA or the local playground, the object of the game remains the same: put the ball in the basket.

Five-player teams dribble and pass the ball down the court to set up shots at the basket. Shots from the field are worth 2 points, free throws are worth 1 point and shots from beyond the 6.25 meter (20ft 6in) arc are worth 3 points.

Personal fouls may be called on players for holding, slapping, pushing, charging or committing other illegal acts of bodily contact as determined by one of the two on-court officials. Players committing five fouls must leave the game, and the accumulation of eight team fouls per half results in a bonus free throw for the opposition. Players fouled in the act of shooting receive one free throw if the shot was good, two if it was not and three if it was taken from beyond the 3-point line.

Dr. James Naismith's rules for the game of basketball have changed very little over the past 100 years, but the game still has three unique sets of regulations. Efforts are routinely made to standardize the rules for all basketball competitions, but subtle differences still exist at the international, professional and collegiate level.

FIVB NBA NCAA
International Professional Collegiate
Duration of game two 20-minute halves four 12-minute quarters two 20-minute halves
Shot Clock 30 seconds 24 seconds 35 seconds (men)
30 seconds (women)
Court length 28m x 15m
(91-10 x 49-2 1/2) 94ft x 50ft 94ft x 50ft
Size of lane 19ft 8.2 x 19ft 0.3 16 x 19 12 x 19
Player foul limit 5 6 5
Bonus Free Throw 8th team foul per half 5th team foul per period 7th team foul per half
Three-point FG distance 6.25m (20ft 6in) 19ft 9in
Jump ball Yes Yes Teams alternate possession
Who can request timeout Coach Player in game Player or coach (women)

player in game (men)

Time outs 2 per half 7 per game 5 per game
Overtime 5 minutes 5 minutes 5 minutes
Touch ball on cylinder Yes No No
Closely guarded
5 seconds
Yes No No

This is an official publication of The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publication Department. Written by Howard Thomas and Dianna Drayson.


Olympic Factoid
An estimated 5.3 million visted Centennial Olympic Park between opening day - 13 July - and closing day - 4 August, making the park the most single most visited Olympic site during the Games.