Why Basketball is a Great Sport

Consider the inherent value of any athletic contest: Its contributions to health, its massively enjoyable nature of fun, its primal appeal to the competitive nature of humanity. Whether the sport is dodgeball, ice hockey, squash, or football, it can certainly be argued that it is great.

Basketball, though, is especially so. Even if it is not your favorite, it is undeniably great. This American-made game featuring the big orange ball and netted hoops has a few particular traits that make it inarguably great.

Visibility

Do you know who Michael Jordan is?

If so, then you can personally attest to the enormous success of the National Basketball Association. The NBA is nearly unanimously regarded as one of the major, prominent professional sports organizations in the world. Although other sports such as curling and volleyball are certainly popular and legitimate, it is rare that you will see people sporting jerseys from those areas. However, basketball jerseys of famous superstars are not only widespread in their own right, but have crossed boundaries into being accepted as part of the hip-hop clothing culture. It is an incredible phenomenon when a "throwback jersey" is regarded as premium attire. Even if an example such as the NFL is considered more successful, the NBA has carved a solid niche of commercial enormity.

Outside of the professional level, we see the popularity of basketball evident in the NCAA tournaments, the thousands of feverishly contested high school games, and the neighborhoods in which you can spot a basketball goal at every other house on the street. Countless books and several Hollywood films have been created around the game. Athletes have entered mainstream news and media, whether Dennis Rodman's past dating of Madonna and others, or Shaquille O'Neal's often-derided forays into rap music and feature moviemaking. Also, consider: How many major leagues have professional female athletes? Reality shows that within English-speaking culture, it is notably difficult to discover someone who is not somehow familiar with basketball.

Availability

Can you play baseball alone? What does football look like with only two participants?

Sure, you can grab a ball and practice throwing it against something. And with two people, you can play rounds of Catch. However, basketball is remarkably more self-sustained, no matter how many are playing. Players can attest that ball-handling and shooting are skills that can be well honed while alone; conveniently,

basketball offers a goal, the rim, that can meet the needs of various amounts of players. With two people, you can play a complete game, with scoring and rules, rather than simple Catch back and forth. Beginning with three people, you can play variants involving individual play rather than teams, such as the popular playground variant 21.

Unlike hockey, which requires specialized shoes, or basbeball, best played with cleats, basketball can be played in ubiquitous tennis shoes in any loose-enough clothing. Once a rim is obtained or available, all you need is the ball. The ball itself is inexpensive, and many rims will get shared for free. Basketball has effectively transcended barriers of economy, race, class, and other standards. Neither a rich man's game nor the contest of kings, it is championed by inner-city players, black players, European players, players on rims both rural and urban, players who will play with anyone else regardless of these traits as well.

It is not often that you will find an accommodating baseball or football field for public play, or a large area, but basketball can be played in a small area, indoors or outside, on one or two rims. If you want to play basketball, you can.

Pace

What was the score of the last soccer game you watched?

Although much can be said concerning the merits of teamwork, defense, etc., it is indisputable that the most exciting and rewarding element of any game is scoring. It determines victories and losses, keeps a game in progress, alters its atmosphere and strategy. In this aspect, the game of basketball stands far above the rest. The scoring is quick and often, yet still remains crucial, especially in the last minutes of play. In casual pick-up games, games are usually determined by a score amount rather than a time limit, only making it even more important and exciting. An exhilarating game of streetball can be played in a small enough amount of time to allow several rounds.

Soccer is a widely played sport, a perfect game to teach kids to rely on teamwork and defense rather than showboating. Its success has even garnered the clich of the "soccer mom" who totes her son or daughter to every game. However, its lack of scoring and relatively unexciting play have prevented its American professional league from widespread prominence. Baseball is plagued with pacing issues that continue to fuel debates, and while football is an overwhelming popular pastime, its complexity and downtimes have maintained a culture of NFL spectatorship rather than actual, popular play.

After all is considered, the debate over which sport is "greatest" will always continue. The stake and status that basketball holds in that debate, though, is irrefutable. To put it simply and effectively: Basketball is a great sport.