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English 10

​ I chose the topic of basketball because it is a sport that I’ve played for years and I am

very interested to learn more about it. I began playing basketball when I was 7 years old. I

currently still play basketball and I am a fan of the NBA. The main reason I chose basketball as

my research topic is because it will be an interesting and informative topic as I look more in

depth into the history of the NBA and basketball, how players develop, and make it to the NBA.

I can remember when I first started playing basketball how hard it was to shoot, dribble, and play

defense. I can remember how a basically used to throw the ball at the rim with hope that it would

somehow go in. It is very common for new and especially young players to not really understand

that there is more of a technique to shooting a basketball than just throwing it at the rim. It also

used to be very hard to keep in control of your dribble, and how to play defense without fouling.

Fouling is when a player has illegal contact with another player. Basketball will be a relatable

and interesting topic to research.

Basketball is an fun sport to play. Thousands of people around the world have come to

love the game of basketball but everyone I have ever asked doesn’t know how the game was

invented. I am also someone who doesn’t know how one of my favorite sports were created. So

here’s what I found.

In 1891, a physical education instructor named James Naismith was forced to keep his

class inside due to the winter weather in Massachusetts. To avoid losing his classes interest, he

decided to come up with a new, entertaining game. It was originally played with two peach

baskets hanging ten feet in the air and a soccer ball. (Springfield edu) Although the rules have
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been modified since James Naismith invented this game, the same basics are still required today.

There are still 2 hoops hanging ten feet in the air and instead of a soccer ball they have a

dedicated basketball.It is crazy how such a popular sport played worldwide all started with one

guy just trying to keep his students interested.

I never knew how basketball originated but now that I think about it, it’s just a simple

game that a gym teacher created to keep kids active and having fun. It was interesting to study

how one of my favorite sports were invented.

The next topic we are going to look at is how long each basketball game is. For some of

you who may not know too much about the topic of basketball may wonder how long games are.

NBA games are broken up into 4 12 minute quarters. Each game has 48 minutes of

playing time. Throughout the game the clock stops for fouls, timeouts, and at the end of each

quarter. The average NBA game usually lasts around 2 hours and 15 minutes.College basketball

games are split up into 2 20 minute halves. This allows for 40 minutes of actual play time and the

average game usually lasts around 2 hours. High school games are split up into 4 8 minute

quarters allowing for 32 minutes of play time but after delays games tend to last between 75-90

minutes. (livestrong)

Different levels of play have different game times and layouts. NBA and high school

games each have 4 quarters and college only has 2 halves. As the age of the players gets older,

the amount of play time increases.

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My next research topic is about the prices of tickets for the NBA compared to other

professional leagues. The average cost of an NBA ticket is $89(Barry’s tickets NBA). Of course

you can find some deals where they are going to be less and you can also find many that will be

much more expensive. The average cost of an MLB ticket is around $76(Barry’s tickets NBA).

Although MLB ticket prices seem to be lower, tickets for the 2 closest teams to Averill Park have

tickets that cost around $155.(Barry’s tickets MLB) Those teams are the Yankees and the Red

Sox. NBA tickets do not seem to change as much for more popular teams. The only team I could

find whose prices vary like that is the Golden State Warriors.

One thing I’ve wondered about for a while is how many college basketball players

actually make it to the NBA. This gives me the chance to research and analyze what percentage

of college and high school basketball players actually make it to the NBA.

According to hoopsvibe.com, less than 2% of college basketball players actually make it

into the NBA. About 3% of high school basketball players make the transition from high school

to the NBA. Only about .03% of high school basketball players make the jump to the NBA.

Although the changes of a college player making it to the NBA is much higher than the chance

of a high school player, it is still a very slim chance of making the NBA.

Making the transition from college or high school ball is a very difficult process which

explains why only 1.3% of college and .03% of high school player actually make it into the

NBA. A very little percentage of players make it to the league.

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Since my research topic of basketball can be one of the highest paying jobs in the world,

I decided to look into the pay gap between top of the line NBA players salaries vs the salaries of

top of the line players from other sports such as the MLB and the NFL. I am going to use the top

paid athletes from each league to compare amongst each other.

So as it turns out, all 3 professional sports are very similar in their highest paid players.

Leading the way is the NBA. The highest paid player in the NBA Steph Curry has an average

annual salary of 34.6 million(Basketball Reference). Following the NBA, the MLB’s highest

paid player Mike Trout brings home about 34.1 million per year(Spotrac). Finally the highest

paid NFL player Russell Wilson rakes in about 35 million dollars per year(Sporting News).This

comes as a surprise to me because football is the most physical and dangerous out of these 3 but

yet you will make less money than the NBA or MLB. This is one reason why most multi-sport

athletes choose the MLB because it is the safest of the 3 and you make more money than

football. However, there are some players like Kyler Murray who choose the NFL for the love

of the game and they feel as if they will leave a bigger legacy in football than the other sports.

All 3 professional sports pay out amazingly, with their top paid athletes all being paid

over 33 million dollars per year. The NBA pays the most, followed by the MLB, then the NFL.

As I research about the NBA i cannot go without figuring out who are the top 3 highest

paid players in the league. I began to look further into the top salaries of NBA players and here's

what I found.

As of the 2018, the highest paid player in the league is Steph Curry. Steph’s salary is 34

million dollars. The second highest player is no surprise. LeBron James rakes in 33 million
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dollars. Finally third on the list was a big surprise to me and that is Paul Millsap. His salary is

currently 31.3 million dollars(Business Insider).

It is no surprise that Steph Curry and LeBron James are the top 2 highest paid players in

the NBA. They are both legendary players that get paid for their skills. Paul MIllsap was a huge

underdog coming in at number 3 but he is a great player too. The highest paid NBA player brings

in 34 million dollars

Since the sport of basketball relies heavily on your ability to shoot the ball, it made me

wonder who the best 3 point shooter in NBA history. Everywhere I looked I kept finding the

same top two shooters, Steph Curry and Ray Allen.

Ray Allen is considered one of the greatest shooters of all time because he holds the all time

record for 3 point shots made in history with 2,973 3 pointers. Allen is a 10 time all star and

2001 3 point competition champ. Allen somehow managed to shoot 40% from 3 during his

career which is super impressive considering how many 3s he attempted.

The other name I keep finding wherever I look is Steph Curry. Curry is still an active

player in the NBA. He holds the record for most 3s in a season with an astonishing 402 3s in a

season. He also holds 2nd place with 286 3s in a season. He is a dominant shooter. He holds the

second highest career 3 point percentage with 44.4% but his career is far from over and he will

go down in history as the greatest shooter of all time(USA today).

There is no dispute that Ray Allen and Steph Curry are the 2 greatest shooters in NBA

history. Between the 2 players they hold just about every 3 point record ever.
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As I have been researching all about basketball,I have to talk about NBA rings. The one

thing every basketball player dreams of…. Winning an NBA championship. So I decided to do

so research on what NBA team has the most championships in history.

According to Chat Sports, the NBA team with the most rings is no surprise, the Boston

Celtics. The Celtics have won 17 championships which is the most of any other team in history.

Larry Bird, one of the greatest players of all time played for Boston and helped them to 3

championships. Coming in at a close second with 16 NBA championships are the LA Lakers.

The Lakers have hosted many great players over the years such as Shaquille O’ Neal, Magic

Johnson, and more recently Lebron James. The team with the third most championships is quite

possibly the most famous team in history, the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have 6 championships

and have hosted many famous players such as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis

Rodman.

It’s very surprising that the Bulls only have 6 rings compared to Boston’s 17 considering

how well known the Bulls are. The Boston Celtics are the most championship winning team in

the history of the NBA.

I chose basketball because it is one of my favorite sports that I figured I could research to

learn more about, remain interested, and it is something I can relate to. I have progressed so
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much from when I first began playing basketball when I was 7 years old. I now understand that

playing basketball is a lot more than just chucking the ball at the rim and running around

smacking the other players. I realize that playing basketball is like a fine art that you really need

to use your head and you can outsmart the opponents. I have progressed so much through lots

and lots of practice and tips from others that now some of the hardest aspects of the game such as

dribbling, shooting, and playing defense, they now just come natural and I don’t need focus so

hard on those aspects and I can now think strategically about how to play against opposing teams

and player. Researching the topic of basketball really informed me about the history of the

sport, the league, and the players. Basketball was a fun, interesting and informative topic to

research.

Works Cited

“2018-19 NBA Player Contracts.” ​Basketball​,

www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/players.html.

Gaines, Cork. “The 24 Highest-Paid Players in the NBA for the 2018-19 Season.”

Business Insider​, Business Insider, 30 Nov. 2018,

www.businessinsider.com/nba-highest-paid-players-2018-10.

“How Much Are MLB Ticket Prices 2018 Highest - Lowest.” ​Barrystickets.com,​ 5 Dec.

2017, www.barrystickets.com/blog/mlb-ticket-prices/.

“How Much Are NBA Ticket Prices 2018-2019 Season?” ​Barrystickets.com​, 2 Nov.

2018, www.barrystickets.com/blog/nba-ticket-prices/.

“Length of Basketball Games.” ​LIVESTRONG.COM​, Leaf Group,

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www.livestrong.com/article/339787-length-of-basketball-games/.

“MLB Rankings.” ​Spotrac.com,​ www.spotrac.com/mlb/rankings/.

“NFL's Highest-Paid Players in 2019.” ​Sporting News,​ (Paul Nisely/SN Illustration), 16

Apr. 2019,

www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/nfl-highest-paid-players-2019/s2560yib2yvwzj

dlsfy10ox2.

“The Odds of Playing in the NBA.” ​Hoopsvibe,​ 20 Feb. 2015,

www.hoopsvibe.com/features/285631-the-odds-of-playin-in-the-nba.

Rauf, Brian. “Which NBA Team Has Won The Most Championships?” ​Live and

on-Demand Sports News Video,​ 22 Apr. 2019,

www.chatsports.com/nba/a/which-nba-team-has-won-most-championships-33626.

Siegel, Alan. “10 Best 3-Point Shooters in NBA History, Ranked.” ​USA Today,​ Gannett

Satellite Information Network, 19 May 2019,

ftw.usatoday.com/2016/05/best-3-point-shooters.

“Springfield College.” ​Springfield College,​

springfield.edu/where-basketball-was-invented-the-birthplace-of-basketball.