Basketball Basketball is played by two teams of five players each, whose purpose is to score by placing a ball into the opponents' basket and then to prevent the other team from scoring in the same way.
Basketball is one of the world's most popular sports for players and spectators alike.
Played with few or no rule adaptations by athletes from different disability groups, basketball is a team sport at the World Games for the Deaf, Paralympic Games, and International Special Olympics Games. Individual contests in skills such as target passing, dribbling, and spot shot are offered as developmental activities at Special Olympics Games. In the Paralympic Games, basketball is open to anyone with a permanent lower limb disability. Thus, athletes with spinal injuries, amputations, or polio are eligible to compete in wheelchair basketball. In the Special Olympics Games, athletes with an IQ of 70 or less who are 8 years or older are eligible to participate in this event.