Basketball

In basketball two teams of five try to throw the ball through a hoop hung 3.05 metres above the floor. The game demands speed, accuracy and teamwork; 3x3 basketball has grown from a street game into an Olympic event.

History

Basketball was invented in December 1891 by the physical-education teacher James Naismith in Springfield, USA — the first hoops were peach baskets. The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) was founded in 1932. Basketball joined the Olympic programme in Berlin in 1936; women's basketball has been played since 1976, and 3x3 basketball since the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Major competitions

The Olympic Games, the FIBA World Cup (since 1950), the European Championship — EuroBasket (since 1935), North America's NBA (1946), Europe's top club competition the EuroLeague, and the FIBA Asia Cup.

Basketball in the Turkic world

Hungary won the European title in its own capital, Budapest, in 1955. Türkiye won silver at the EuroBasket it hosted in 2001 and again at the World Championship it hosted in 2010, and the Turkish women's team reached the EuroBasket final in 2011.

Turkish clubs are at the top of Europe: Anadolu Efes won the EuroLeague back to back in 2021 and 2022, and Fenerbahçe won it in 2017 and 2025. Istanbul has hosted the EuroLeague Final Four several times. Kazakhstan's BC Astana plays in the VTB United League, and 3x3 basketball is growing fast in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Famous Turkic basketball players

Mehmet Okur (NBA champion in 2004, All-Star in 2007), Hedo Türkoğlu (the NBA's Most Improved Player in 2008), Alperen Şengün (NBA All-Star in 2025), İbrahim Kutluay and Kerem Tunçeri.