title: Mötley Crüe

text: In 1998, Mötley's contractual ties with Elektra had expired, putting the band in total control of their future, including the ownership of the master recordings of all of their albums. Announcing the end of their relationship with Elektra, the band became one of the few groups to own and control their publishing and music catalog. They are one of only a handful of artists to own the masters to their material and reportedly did so by being the biggest pain they could be until Elektra got fed up and handed over the rights in order to get the band off their label. After leaving Elektra the band created their own label, Mötley Records.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: Mötley released their compilation "Greatest Hits" in late 1998, featuring two new songs, "Bitter Pill" and "Enslaved". In 1999, the band rereleased all their albums, dubbed as "Crücial Crüe". These limited-edition digital remasters included demos, plus live, instrumental, and previously unreleased tracks. In 1999 the band also released "Supersonic and Demonic Relics", an updated version of "Decade of Decadence" featuring the original songs from that album and several previously unreleased B-sides and remixes, as well as their first official live album "" (which was the original working title for the studio album "Theatre of Pain"). The band then went on a co-headlining tour with The Scorpions.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: In 1999, Lee quit to pursue a solo career, due to increasing tensions with Neil. "All we got was a call from his attorney saying he wasn't coming back," recalled the singer. "He wasn't into rock 'n' roll anymore. He even said that rock is dead ... It all happened during a void in Mötley. We weren't even rehearsing, so it was no big deal."


title: Mötley Crüe

text: Lee was replaced by a longtime friend of the band, former Ozzy Osbourne drummer Randy Castillo. The band released "New Tattoo" in July 2000. Before the ensuing tour commenced, Castillo became ill with a duodenal ulcer. The band brought in former Hole drummer Samantha Maloney for the Maximum Rock tour with Megadeth as Castillo concentrated on his health. However, while Castillo was recovering from stomach surgery, he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma after finding a tumor on his jaw. He died on March 26, 2002. Soon afterward, the band went on hiatus.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: While the band was on hiatus, Sixx played in side projects 58 and Brides of Destruction. Neil was featured on the first season of VH1's reality show "The Surreal Life", and had his own special titled "Remaking Vince Neil", which focused on his solo career and attempts to get in better physical shape. Mars, who suffers from a hereditary form of arthritis which causes extensive spinal pain called ankylosing spondylitis, went into seclusion in 2001 dealing with health issues. Lee went on to form Methods of Mayhem and also performed as a solo artist during this time.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: A 2001 autobiography titled "The Dirt", co-authored by all four of the band members and Neil Strauss, presented Mötley as "the world's most notorious rock band." The book made the top ten on "The New York Times Best Seller list" and spent ten weeks there, and would return to the list after the film adaptation was released in spring 2019.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: In 2003, the band released two box sets entitled "" and "", featuring the music from their entire career. The titles of the collections were heavily criticized by Hanoi Rocks singer Michael Monroe, among others, due to their possible reference to Vince Neil and Razzle's fatal automobile accident, and that Neil was found guilty of manslaughter for the incident.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: A promoter in England, Mags Revell, began clamoring for a Mötley Crüe reunion, ostensibly presenting himself as the voice of anxious fans waiting for more from the band. After meeting with management several times, in September 2004, Sixx announced that he and Neil had returned to the studio and had begun recording new material. In December 2004, the four original members announced a reunion tour, staging an announcement event in which they arrived at the Hollywood Palladium in a hearse. The tour began on February 14, 2005, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The resulting compilation album, "Red, White & Crüe", was released in February 2005. It features the band members' favorite original songs plus three new tracks, "If I Die Tomorrow", "Sick Love Song" (co-written by Sixx and James Michael), and a cover of the Rolling Stones' classic "Street Fighting Man". A small controversy was caused when it was suggested that neither Lee nor Mars played on the new tracks (duties were supposedly handled by Vandals drummer Josh Freese). However, a VH1 documentary of the band's reunion later showed that Lee did indeed play on some of the tracks. The Japanese release of "Red, White & Crüe" includes an extra new track titled "I'm a Liar (and That's the Truth)". "Red, White & Crüe" charted at No. 6 and has since gone platinum.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: On New Year's Eve 2004 the band appeared on a live episode of "The Tonight Show". Neil yelled an obscenity during the performance, leading to an FCC investigation. The NBC network responded by banning the band, leading to the band subsequently suing the network, claiming they were being unfairly punished. The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court and the band made several subsequent appearances on the network.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: In 2005, Mötley Crüe was involved in an animation-comedy spoof "Disaster!", which was written by Paul Benson and Matt Sullivan and which was used as the introduction film to concerts on their Carnival of Sins tour. That tour continued throughout 2005 and was commemorated with the release of a live album and DVD in 2006. In the fall of 2005 the band re-recorded "Home Sweet Home" as a duet with Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington and donated the proceeds to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: In 2006, Mötley Crüe went on the Route of All Evil Tour, co-headlining with Aerosmith and taking performers from Lucent Dossier Experience on the road with them. 2006 also saw the band sign with Paramount Pictures and MTV Films to adapt their autobiography "The Dirt" into a movie, but the production was delayed for several years and the deal eventually fell through. In June 2007, Mötley Crüe set out on a small European tour. A lawsuit was filed by Neil, Mars and Sixx against Carl Stubner, Lee's manager. The three sued him for contracting for Lee to appear on two unsuccessful reality shows the band claim hurt its image. It was later reported on Motley.com that the lawsuit had been settled.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: In 2007, Sixx published his diaries as the bestselling autobiography "", covering the band's "Girls, Girls, Girls" world tour and his 1987 overdose, and Sixx's side project band released "The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack" as a musical parallel to the novel.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: The band hosted the Motley Cruise from January 24 to 28 in 2008; this featured Ratt, Skid Row and Slaughter.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: On June 11, 2008, Mötley Crüe and manager Burt Stein filed suit against each other. Stein was Neil's personal manager and also, according to the band and rival manager Kovac, served as the band's manager at one time. The band and Kovac sued in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claiming Stein was not entitled to a cut of Mötley Crüe's earnings. Stein sued the same day in Nashville's federal court, saying he was entitled to 1.875 percent of what the band makes. Other litigation between the parties also ensued in Nevada. In July 2009, lawyers for both sides announced that the disputes had been "amicably resolved" through a "global settlement".


title: Mötley Crüe

text: Mötley Crüe's ninth studio album, titled "Saints of Los Angeles", was released in Japan on June 17, 2008, and in America on June 24, 2008. The album was originally titled "The Dirt", as it was loosely based on the band's autobiography of the same name, but the title was later changed. In the US, the album was released by Eleven Seven Music. Eleven Seven also took over US distribution of their back catalog.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: iTunes picked "Saints of Los Angeles" in their "Best of 2008" in the Rock category as the number one song. The song was also nominated for a Grammy Award in the "Best Hard Rock Performance" category, but lost to "Wax Simulacra" by The Mars Volta. The song was released in the music game series "Rock Band" as downloadable content the day the single was released. It was briefly sold as a "Rock Band" exclusive, making Mötley Crüe the first band to release a single exclusively through a video game. The song sold more units via "Rock Band" than it did via traditional streaming sites. Additionally, the entire "Dr. Feelgood" album was released as downloadable content in "Rock Band", excluding "T.n.T. (Terror 'n Tinseltown)".


title: Mötley Crüe

text: From July 1 to August 31, 2008, Mötley Crüe headlined the popular Crüe Fest music festival, which included opening acts Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Trapt, and They then spent the fall and winter of that year on tour with Hinder, Theory of a Deadman and The Last Vegas.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: The band made a guest appearance in the fourth season finale of the FOX crime dramedy "Bones" on May 14, 2009, entitled "The End in the Beginning", performing the song "Dr. Feelgood". The following month they performed at the Download Festival at the Donington Park motorsports circuit (June 12–14, 2009), playing on the second stage on Friday night.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: Mötley Crüe headlined the "Crüe Fest 2" festival, which ran from July to September 2009. Supporting them were Godsmack, Theory of a Deadman, Drowning Pool, and Charm City Devils. The band's set celebrated the 20th anniversary of "Dr. Feelgood" by performing the album in its entirety on each night of the tour. They also re-released the album as a special 20th anniversary deluxe edition.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: Mötley Crüe headlined Ozzfest in 2010, along with Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Halford. Neil also released his third solo album and autobiography, both entitled "Tattoos and Tequila".


title: Mötley Crüe

text: Mötley Crüe co-headlined a mid-year tour with Poison and special guests New York Dolls in 2011 for the band's 30th Anniversary and Poison's 25th anniversary. On August 30, 2011, Mötley Crüe, along with co-headliners Def Leppard and special guests Steel Panther, announced a UK Tour commencing in December 2011.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: In February 2012 the band appeared along with supermodel Adriana Lima in a commercial for the Kia Optima, which premiered during Super Bowl XLVI. February 2012 also saw the band host its first residency at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. In March 2012, Mötley Crüe announced a co-headlining tour with Kiss. The tour kicked off July 20 in Bristow, Virginia, and ran through September 23. In the spring and summer of 2013 the band toured throughout Canada with Big Wreck. The band returned to Las Vegas for a second residency in the fall of 2013.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: On January 28, 2014, at the conference inside Beacher's Madhouse Theater in Hollywood, Mötley Crüe announced the full details of its retirement, including a tour initially spanning 70 North American dates, with Alice Cooper playing as a special guest. The tour commenced in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 2, 2014. The band members had signed a "cessation of touring agreement", which prevented them from touring under the Mötley Crüe name beyond the end of 2015. In a later interview, Sixx talked about the possibility of releasing new music, saying that "We have music written, [but] it's not put together yet". He also speculated that the band would release it in a song-by-song format as opposed to a full-length album format, elaborating with "It's hard, to be honest with you, to spend six [or] nine months to write eleven songs—all those lyrics ... everything ... the vocals, the guitars, the bass, the sonics, the mixing, the mastering, the artwork. ... You put it out and nothing [happens], because now people cherry-pick songs. So we go, 'Why don't we write songs and find vehicles to get one, two or four songs to ten million people rather than eleven songs to a hundred thousand people."


title: Mötley Crüe

text: During the tour the band played a new song, "All Bad Things", over the speakers throughout the venue before it took the stage. On November 22, 2014, in Spokane, Washington, at the Spokane Arena, Mötley Crüe played the final concert of the first North American leg of The Final Tour.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: On January 15, 2015, it was announced that the band's career would end with international concerts in Japan, Australia, Brazil and Europe before heading out for a second leg of North American concerts throughout 2015, ending with a concert at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on December 27, followed by three concerts at Staples Center on December 28, 30 and 31, 2015. In May 2015, The Crüe and Alice Cooper announced a set of 12 concert dates for Europe at a conference in London.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: Mötley Crüe performed, for what was then advertised to be the last time, at Staples Center in Los Angeles on December 31, 2015. The band reported that its New Year's Eve show was going to be released as a film in 2016; the movie was titled "Motley Crue: THE END".


title: Mötley Crüe

text: In 2017, frontman Vince Neil told host Sammy Hagar on the show "Rock and Roll Road Trip" that Mötley Crüe were "completely done". However, on September 13, 2018, Neil announced via Twitter that Mötley Crüe was recording four new songs; this was later also confirmed by bassist Nikki Sixx, who said that the new material was recorded for the film adaptation of the band's biography, "The Dirt". Neil also clarified that, though the band has signed a contract to no longer tour, they still plan to continue putting out new music for the future.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: Netflix released "The Dirt" biopic based on the book of the same name that coincided with an 18-song soundtrack on March 22, 2019. The film is directed by Jeff Tremaine, (""), produced by Julie Yorn and Erik Olsen, executive produced by Rick Yorn, and co-produced by Kovac who is Mötley Crüe's manager, CEO of Eleven Seven Label Group and founder of Tenth Street Entertainment. "The Dirt" stars Daniel Webber as Neil, Iwan Rheon ("Game of Thrones") as Mars, Douglas Booth as Sixx and Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) as Lee. Also starring in the movie is Pete Davidson ("Saturday Night Live") as record executive Tom Zutaut. "Rolling Stone" wrote that "The Dirt" is "a truly debauched movie that delves deep into their rise from the early Eighties Sunset Strip metal scene to their days as arena headliners." The film portrays many of the adventures the band went on including touring with Ozzy Osbourne and the "Theatre of Pain" tour.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: The first new song from the soundtrack was "The Dirt (Est.1981)", which was released on February 22, 2019. The band wrote two other new songs, "Ride With the Devil" and "Crash and Burn", and covered Madonna's "Like a Virgin", on the album. The soundtrack additionally included fourteen previously-released Mötley Crüe songs. It was produced by Bob Rock, who produced "Dr. Feelgood", and was released on March 22, 2019, on Mötley Records and Eleven Seven Music. The soundtrack hit the Billboard Top 10 at No. 10, the first time Mötley Crüe hit the Billboard Top 10 in over a decade.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: The group's legacy was also featured on a 2019 episode of the Reelz documentary series "Breaking the Band". Both Neil and Sixx had a negative reaction to how things were portrayed in the episode. Sixx said they would be pursuing legal action and called Reelz "the bottom of the barrel."


title: Mötley Crüe

text: In November 2019, rumors started to circulate of the band reuniting for a 2020 tour with Def Leppard and Poison, following the success of Guns N' Roses' reunion tour. The band responded to an online petition rallying for the group's return, saying "this is interesting...". On November 18, "Rolling Stone" magazine reported that all four band members had agreed to come back together for the tour, utilizing a loophole in their "Cessation of Touring" contract. Later that same day, the band confirmed all reports with a statement on their website, posting a press release and a video of the contract being destroyed. On December 4, 2019, it was officially confirmed that Mötley Crüe would embark on The Stadium Tour with Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts in the summer of 2020. Also in December 2019 Mick Mars announced that his debut solo album would be released in the spring of 2020. On June 1, 2020, Mötley Crüe announced that The Stadium Tour would be rescheduled to June–September 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic; it was postponed once again to 2022, due to similar circumstances amid the pandemic. In January 2022, in the wake of the Omicron variant surge, Sixx was asked by a fan on Twitter if The Stadium Tour was still happening this year; his response was, "We're 1000% hitting the road with Def Leppard for The Stadium Tour in mid-June...I can't f'ckin wait..." Just prior to the start of the tour, Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen announced that Mötley Crüe had "signed up" for another tour together in Europe, which is slated to take place in 2023; this claim was later confirmed by Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: In September 2022, Neil announced in an interview with the "Las Vegas Review-Journal" that the band would return for a US tour in 2024. In that same interview, he also ruled out the possibility of further studio albums, stating that they were "strictly a touring band".


title: Mötley Crüe

text: On October 26, 2022, Mick Mars retired as a touring member of the band due to ongoing health issues, according to a statement released by Mars' publicist. The next day, the band confirmed that John 5 would take Mars' place as their new touring guitarist.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: Mötley Crüe's musical style has been described as heavy metal, glam metal, hard rock, glam rock, and power pop. According to AllMusic, "[they have] a knack for melding pop hooks to heavy metal theatrics." The band changed to a more alternative metal and grunge sound on "Mötley Crüe" (1994) and industrial rock on "Generation Swine" (1997).


title: Mötley Crüe

text: Music critic Martin Popoff's book "The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time" lists seven of the band's songs in its ranking. Mötley Crüe was ranked tenth on MTV's list of "Top 10 Heavy Metal Bands of All-Time" and ninth on "VH1's All Time Top Ten Metal Bands". Music website Loudwire named the band the 22nd greatest metal band of all-time. "Spin" named "Shout at the Devil" the 11th best metal album of all-time. In 2013 "LA Weekly" named the band the 3rd best "hair metal" band of all-time. "Rolling Stone" named "Too Fast For Love" the 22nd best metal album of all-time.


title: Mötley Crüe

text: In 2014, the tribute album "" was released, featuring country music stars including Rascal Flatts, LeAnn Rimes and Darius Rucker covering various Mötley Crüe songs. The album debuted at number 2 on the "Billboard" Country Album chart and number 5 on the "Billboard" 200.


title: Basketball

text: Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's hoop (a basket in diameter mounted high to a backboard at each end of the court, while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated.


title: Basketball

text: Players advance the ball by bouncing it while walking or running (dribbling) or by passing it to a teammate, both of which require considerable skill. On offense, players may use a variety of shotsthe layup, the jump shot, or a dunk; on defense, they may steal the ball from a dribbler, intercept passes, or block shots; either offense or defense may collect a rebound, that is, a missed shot that bounces from rim or backboard. It is a violation to lift or drag one's pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling.


title: Basketball

text: The five players on each side fall into five playing positions. The tallest player is usually the center, the second-tallest and strongest is the power forward, a slightly shorter but more agile player is the small forward, and the shortest players or the best ball handlers are the shooting guard and the point guard, who implements the coach's game plan by managing the execution of offensive and defensive plays (player positioning). Informally, players may play three-on-three, two-on-two, and one-on-one.


title: Basketball

text: Invented in 1891 by Canadian-American gym teacher James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, basketball has evolved to become one of the world's most popular and widely viewed sports. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the most significant professional basketball league in the world in terms of popularity, salaries, talent, and level of competition. Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental championships such as the EuroLeague and the Basketball Champions League Americas. The FIBA Basketball World Cup and Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament are the major international events of the sport and attract top national teams from around the world. Each continent hosts regional competitions for national teams, like EuroBasket and FIBA AmeriCup.


title: Basketball

text: The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament feature top national teams from continental championships. The main North American league is the WNBA (NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship is also popular), whereas the strongest European clubs participate in the EuroLeague Women.


title: Basketball

text: In December 1891, James Naismith, a Canadian professor of physical education and instructor at the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, was trying to keep his gym class active on a rainy day. He sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied and at proper levels of fitness during the long New England winters. After rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he invented a new game in which players would pass a ball to teammates and try to score points by tossing the ball into a basket mounted on a wall. Naismith wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto an elevated track. Naismith initially set up the peach basket with its bottom intact, which meant that the ball had to be retrieved manually after each "basket" or point scored. This quickly proved tedious, so Naismith removed the bottom of the basket to allow the balls to be poked out with a long dowel after each scored basket.


title: Basketball

text: Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball. These round balls from "association football" were made, at the time, with a set of laces to close off the hole needed for inserting the inflatable bladder after the other sewn-together segments of the ball's cover had been flipped outside-in. These laces could cause bounce passes and dribbling to be unpredictable. Eventually a lace-free ball construction method was invented, and this change to the game was endorsed by Naismith. (Whereas in American football, the lace construction proved to be advantageous for gripping and remains to this day.) The first balls made specifically for basketball were brown, and it was only in the late 1950s that Tony Hinkle, searching for a ball that would be more visible to players and spectators alike, introduced the orange ball that is now in common use. Dribbling was not part of the original game except for the "bounce pass" to teammates. Passing the ball was the primary means of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the asymmetric shape of early balls. Dribbling was common by 1896, with a rule against the double dribble by 1898.


title: Basketball

text: The peach baskets were used until 1906 when they were finally replaced by metal hoops with backboards. A further change was soon made, so the ball merely passed through. Whenever a person got the ball in the basket, his team would gain a point. Whichever team got the most points won the game. The baskets were originally nailed to the mezzanine balcony of the playing court, but this proved impractical when spectators in the balcony began to interfere with shots. The backboard was introduced to prevent this interference; it had the additional effect of allowing rebound shots. Naismith's handwritten diaries, discovered by his granddaughter in early 2006, indicate that he was nervous about the new game he had invented, which incorporated rules from a children's game called duck on a rock, as many had failed before it.


title: Basketball

text: Frank Mahan, one of the players from the original first game, approached Naismith after the Christmas break, in early 1892, asking him what he intended to call his new game. Naismith replied that he hadn't thought of it because he had been focused on just getting the game started. Mahan suggested that it be called "Naismith ball", at which he laughed, saying that a name like that would kill any game. Mahan then said, "Why not call it basketball?" Naismith replied, "We have a basket and a ball, and it seems to me that would be a good name for it." The first official game was played in the YMCA gymnasium in Albany, New York, on January 20, 1892, with nine players. The game ended at 1–0; the shot was made from , on a court just half the size of a present-day Streetball or National Basketball Association (NBA) court.


title: Basketball

text: At the time, soccer was being played with 10 to a team (which was increased to 11). When winter weather got too icy to play soccer, teams were taken indoors, and it was convenient to have them split in half and play basketball with five on each side. By 1897–1898 teams of five became standard.


title: Basketball

text: Basketball's early adherents were dispatched to YMCAs throughout the United States, and it quickly spread through the United States and Canada. By 1895, it was well established at several women's high schools. While YMCA was responsible for initially developing and spreading the game, within a decade it discouraged the new sport, as rough play and rowdy crowds began to detract from YMCA's primary mission. However, other amateur sports clubs, colleges, and professional clubs quickly filled the void. In the years before World War I, the Amateur Athletic Union and the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (forerunner of the NCAA) vied for control over the rules for the game. The first pro league, the National Basketball League, was formed in 1898 to protect players from exploitation and to promote a less rough game. This league only lasted five years.


title: Basketball

text: James Naismith was instrumental in establishing college basketball. His colleague C. O. Beamis fielded the first college basketball team just a year after the Springfield YMCA game at the suburban Pittsburgh Geneva College. Naismith himself later coached at the University of Kansas for six years, before handing the reins to renowned coach Forrest "Phog" Allen. Naismith's disciple Amos Alonzo Stagg brought basketball to the University of Chicago, while Adolph Rupp, a student of Naismith's at Kansas, enjoyed great success as coach at the University of Kentucky. On February 9, 1895, the first intercollegiate 5-on-5 game was played at Hamline University between Hamline and the School of Agriculture, which was affiliated with the University of Minnesota. The School of Agriculture won in a 9–3 game.


title: Basketball

text: In 1901, colleges, including the University of Chicago, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, the University of Minnesota, the U.S. Naval Academy, the University of Colorado and Yale University began sponsoring men's games. In 1905, frequent injuries on the football field prompted President Theodore Roosevelt to suggest that colleges form a governing body, resulting in the creation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS). In 1910, that body changed its name to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The first Canadian interuniversity basketball game was played at YMCA in Kingston, Ontario on February 6, 1904, when McGill UniversityNaismith's alma matervisited Queen's University. McGill won 9–7 in overtime; the score was 7–7 at the end of regulation play, and a ten-minute overtime period settled the outcome. A good turnout of spectators watched the game.


title: Basketball

text: The first men's national championship tournament, the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball tournament, which still exists as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) tournament, was organized in 1937. The first national championship for NCAA teams, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in New York, was organized in 1938; the NCAA national tournament began one year later. College basketball was rocked by gambling scandals from 1948 to 1951, when dozens of players from top teams were implicated in match fixing and point shaving. Partially spurred by an association with cheating, the NIT lost support to the NCAA tournament.


title: Basketball

text: Before widespread school district consolidation, most American high schools were far smaller than their present-day counterparts. During the first decades of the 20th century, basketball quickly became the ideal interscholastic sport due to its modest equipment and personnel requirements. In the days before widespread television coverage of professional and college sports, the popularity of high school basketball was unrivaled in many parts of America. Perhaps the most legendary of high school teams was Indiana's Franklin Wonder Five, which took the nation by storm during the 1920s, dominating Indiana basketball and earning national recognition.


title: Basketball

text: Today virtually every high school in the United States fields a basketball team in varsity competition. Basketball's popularity remains high, both in rural areas where they carry the identification of the entire community, as well as at some larger schools known for their basketball teams where many players go on to participate at higher levels of competition after graduation. In the 2016–17 season, 980,673 boys and girls represented their schools in interscholastic basketball competition, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. The states of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky are particularly well known for their residents' devotion to high school basketball, commonly called Hoosier Hysteria in Indiana; the critically acclaimed film "Hoosiers" shows high school basketball's depth of meaning to these communities.


title: Basketball

text: There is currently no tournament to determine a national high school champion. The most serious effort was the National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament at the University of Chicago from 1917 to 1930. The event was organized by Amos Alonzo Stagg and sent invitations to state champion teams. The tournament started out as a mostly Midwest affair but grew. In 1929 it had 29 state champions. Faced with opposition from the National Federation of State High School Associations and North Central Association of Colleges and Schools that bore a threat of the schools losing their accreditation the last tournament was in 1930. The organizations said they were concerned that the tournament was being used to recruit professional players from the prep ranks. The tournament did not invite minority schools or private/parochial schools.


title: Basketball

text: The National Catholic Interscholastic Basketball Tournament ran from 1924 to 1941 at Loyola University. The National Catholic Invitational Basketball Tournament from 1954 to 1978 played at a series of venues, including Catholic University, Georgetown and George Mason. The National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament for Black High Schools was held from 1929 to 1942 at Hampton Institute. The National Invitational Interscholastic Basketball Tournament was held from 1941 to 1967 starting out at Tuskegee Institute. Following a pause during World War II it resumed at Tennessee State College in Nashville. The basis for the champion dwindled after 1954 when "Brown v. Board of Education" began an integration of schools. The last tournaments were held at Alabama State College from 1964 to 1967.


title: Basketball

text: Teams abounded throughout the 1920s. There were hundreds of men's professional basketball teams in towns and cities all over the United States, and little organization of the professional game. Players jumped from team to team and teams played in armories and smoky dance halls. Leagues came and went. Barnstorming squads such as the Original Celtics and two all-African American teams, the New York Renaissance Five ("Rens") and the (still existing) Harlem Globetrotters played up to two hundred games a year on their national tours.


title: Basketball

text: In 1946, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) was formed. The first game was played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between the Toronto Huskies and New York Knickerbockers on November 1, 1946. Three seasons later, in 1949, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to form the National Basketball Association (NBA). By the 1950s, basketball had become a major college sport, thus paving the way for a growth of interest in professional basketball. In 1959, a basketball hall of fame was founded in Springfield, Massachusetts, site of the first game. Its rosters include the names of great players, coaches, referees and people who have contributed significantly to the development of the game. The hall of fame has people who have accomplished many goals in their career in basketball. An upstart organization, the American Basketball Association, emerged in 1967 and briefly threatened the NBA's dominance until the ABA-NBA merger in 1976. Today the NBA is the top professional basketball league in the world in terms of popularity, salaries, talent, and level of competition.


title: Basketball

text: The NBA has featured many famous players, including George Mikan, the first dominating "big man"; ball-handling wizard Bob Cousy and defensive genius Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics; charismatic center Wilt Chamberlain, who originally played for the barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters; all-around stars Oscar Robertson and Jerry West; more recent big men Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon and Karl Malone; playmakers John Stockton, Isiah Thomas and Steve Nash; crowd-pleasing forwards Julius Erving and Charles Barkley; European stars Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol and Tony Parker; Latin American stars Manu Ginobili, more recent superstars , Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, etc; and the three players who many credit with ushering the professional game to its highest level of popularity during the 1980s and 1990s: Larry Bird, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, and Michael Jordan.


title: Basketball

text: In 2001, the NBA formed a developmental league, the National Basketball Development League (later known as the NBA D-League and then the NBA G League after a branding deal with Gatorade). As of the 2021–22 season, the G League has 30 teams.


title: Basketball

text: FIBA (International Basketball Federation) was formed in 1932 by eight founding nations: Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania and Switzerland. At this time, the organization only oversaw amateur players. Its acronym, derived from the French "Fédération Internationale de Basket-ball Amateur", was thus "FIBA". Men's basketball was first included at the Berlin 1936 Summer Olympics, although a demonstration tournament was held in 1904. The United States defeated Canada in the first final, played outdoors. This competition has usually been dominated by the United States, whose team has won all but three titles. The first of these came in a controversial final game in Munich in 1972 against the Soviet Union, in which the ending of the game was replayed three times until the Soviet Union finally came out on top. In 1950 the first FIBA World Championship for men, now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, was held in Argentina. Three years later, the first FIBA World Championship for women, now known as the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, was held in Chile. Women's basketball was added to the Olympics in 1976, which were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada with teams such as the Soviet Union, Brazil and Australia rivaling the American squads.


title: Basketball

text: In 1989, FIBA allowed professional NBA players to participate in the Olympics for the first time. Prior to the 1992 Summer Olympics, only European and South American teams were allowed to field professionals in the Olympics. The United States' dominance continued with the introduction of the original Dream Team. In the 2004 Athens Olympics, the United States suffered its first Olympic loss while using professional players, falling to Puerto Rico (in a 19-point loss) and Lithuania in group games, and being eliminated in the semifinals by Argentina. It eventually won the bronze medal defeating Lithuania, finishing behind Argentina and Italy. The Redeem Team, won gold at the 2008 Olympics, and the B-Team, won gold at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey despite featuring no players from the 2008 squad. The United States continued its dominance as they won gold at the 2012 Olympics, 2014 FIBA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.


title: Basketball

text: Worldwide, basketball tournaments are held for boys and girls of all age levels. The global popularity of the sport is reflected in the nationalities represented in the NBA. Players from all six inhabited continents currently play in the NBA. Top international players began coming into the NBA in the mid-1990s, including Croatians Dražen Petrović and Toni Kukoč, Serbian Vlade Divac, Lithuanians Arvydas Sabonis and Šarūnas Marčiulionis, Dutchman Rik Smits and German Detlef Schrempf.


title: Basketball

text: In the Philippines, the Philippine Basketball Association's first game was played on April 9, 1975, at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines. It was founded as a "rebellion" of several teams from the now-defunct Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association, which was tightly controlled by the Basketball Association of the Philippines (now defunct), the then-FIBA recognized national association. Nine teams from the MICAA participated in the league's first season that opened on April 9, 1975. The NBL is Australia's pre-eminent men's professional basketball league. The league commenced in 1979, playing a winter season (April–September) and did so until the completion of the 20th season in 1998. The 1998–99 season, which commenced only months later, was the first season after the shift to the current summer season format (October–April). This shift was an attempt to avoid competing directly against Australia's various football codes. It features 8 teams from around Australia and one in New Zealand. A few players including Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Chris Anstey and Andrew Bogut made it big internationally, becoming poster figures for the sport in Australia. The Women's National Basketball League began in 1981.


title: Basketball

text: Women's basketball began in 1892 at Smith College when Senda Berenson, a physical education teacher, modified Naismith's rules for women. Shortly after she was hired at Smith, she went to Naismith to learn more about the game. Fascinated by the new sport and the values it could teach, she organized the first women's collegiate basketball game on March 21, 1893, when her Smith freshmen and sophomores played against one another. However, the first women's interinstitutional game was played in 1892 between the University of California and Miss Head's School. Berenson's rules were first published in 1899, and two years later she became the editor of A. G. Spalding's first Women's Basketball Guide. Berenson's freshmen played the sophomore class in the first women's intercollegiate basketball game at Smith College, March 21, 1893. The same year, Mount Holyoke and Sophie Newcomb College (coached by Clara Gregory Baer) women began playing basketball. By 1895, the game had spread to colleges across the country, including Wellesley, Vassar, and Bryn Mawr. The first intercollegiate women's game was on April 4, 1896. Stanford women played Berkeley, 9-on-9, ending in a 2–1 Stanford victory.


title: Basketball

text: Women's basketball development was more structured than that for men in the early years. In 1905, the executive committee on Basket Ball Rules (National Women's Basketball Committee) was created by the American Physical Education Association. These rules called for six to nine players per team and 11 officials. The International Women's Sports Federation (1924) included a women's basketball competition. 37 women's high school varsity basketball or state tournaments were held by 1925. And in 1926, the Amateur Athletic Union backed the first national women's basketball championship, complete with men's rules. The Edmonton Grads, a touring Canadian women's team based in Edmonton, Alberta, operated between 1915 and 1940. The Grads toured all over North America, and were exceptionally successful. They posted a record of 522 wins and only 20 losses over that span, as they met any team that wanted to challenge them, funding their tours from gate receipts. The Grads also shone on several exhibition trips to Europe, and won four consecutive exhibition Olympics tournaments, in 1924, 1928, 1932, and 1936; however, women's basketball was not an official Olympic sport until 1976. The Grads' players were unpaid, and had to remain single. The Grads' style focused on team play, without overly emphasizing skills of individual players. The first women's AAU All-America team was chosen in 1929. Women's industrial leagues sprang up throughout the United States, producing famous athletes, including Babe Didrikson of the Golden Cyclones, and the All American Red Heads Team, which competed against men's teams, using men's rules. By 1938, the women's national championship changed from a three-court game to two-court game with six players per team.


title: Basketball

text: The NBA-backed Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) began in 1997. Though it had shaky attendance figures, several marquee players (Lisa Leslie, Diana Taurasi, and Candace Parker among others) have helped the league's popularity and level of competition. Other professional women's basketball leagues in the United States, such as the American Basketball League (1996–98), have folded in part because of the popularity of the WNBA. The WNBA has been looked at by many as a niche league. However, the league has recently taken steps forward. In June 2007, the WNBA signed a contract extension with ESPN. The new television deal ran from 2009 to 2016. Along with this deal, came the first-ever rights fees to be paid to a women's professional sports league. Over the eight years of the contract, "millions and millions of dollars" were "dispersed to the league's teams." In a March 12, 2009, article, NBA commissioner David Stern said that in the bad economy, "the NBA is far less profitable than the WNBA. We're losing a lot of money among a large number of teams. We're budgeting the WNBA to break even this year."


title: Basketball

text: Measurements and time limits discussed in this section often vary among tournaments and organizations; international and NBA rules are used in this section.


title: Basketball

text: The object of the game is to outscore one's opponents by throwing the ball through the opponents' basket from above while preventing the opponents from doing so on their own. An attempt to score in this way is called a shot. A successful shot is worth two points, or three points if it is taken from beyond the three-point arc from the basket in international games and in NBA games. A one-point shot can be earned when shooting from the foul line after a foul is made. After a team has scored from a field goal or free throw, play is resumed with a throw-in awarded to the non-scoring team taken from a point beyond the endline of the court where the points(s) were scored.


title: Basketball

text: Games are played in four quarters of 10 (FIBA) or 12 minutes (NBA). College men's games use two 20-minute halves, college women's games use 10-minute quarters, and most United States high school varsity games use 8-minute quarters; however, this varies from state to state. 15 minutes are allowed for a half-time break under FIBA, NBA, and NCAA rules and 10 minutes in United States high schools. Overtime periods are five minutes in length except for high school, which is four minutes in length. Teams exchange baskets for the second half. The time allowed is actual playing time; the clock is stopped while the play is not active. Therefore, games generally take much longer to complete than the allotted game time, typically about two hours.


title: Basketball

text: Five players from each team may be on the court at one time. Substitutions are unlimited but can only be done when play is stopped. Teams also have a coach, who oversees the development and strategies of the team, and other team personnel such as assistant coaches, managers, statisticians, doctors and trainers.


title: Basketball

text: For both men's and women's teams, a standard uniform consists of a pair of shorts and a jersey with a clearly visible number, unique within the team, printed on both the front and back. Players wear high-top sneakers that provide extra ankle support. Typically, team names, players' names and, outside of North America, sponsors are printed on the uniforms.


title: Basketball

text: A limited number of time-outs, clock stoppages requested by a coach (or sometimes mandated in the NBA) for a short meeting with the players, are allowed. They generally last no longer than one minute (100 seconds in the NBA) unless, for televised games, a commercial break is needed.


title: Basketball

text: The game is controlled by the officials consisting of the referee (referred to as crew chief in the NBA), one or two umpires (referred to as referees in the NBA) and the table officials. For college, the NBA, and many high schools, there are a total of three referees on the court. The table officials are responsible for keeping track of each team's scoring, timekeeping, individual and team fouls, player substitutions, team possession arrow, and the shot clock.


title: Basketball

text: The only essential equipment in a basketball game is the ball and the court: a flat, rectangular surface with baskets at opposite ends. Competitive levels require the use of more equipment such as clocks, score sheets, scoreboard(s), alternating possession arrows, and whistle-operated stop-clock systems.


title: Basketball

text: A regulation basketball court in international games is long and wide. In the NBA and NCAA the court is . Most courts have wood flooring, usually constructed from maple planks running in the same direction as the longer court dimension. The name and logo of the home team is usually painted on or around the center circle.


title: Basketball

text: The basket is a steel rim diameter with an attached net affixed to a backboard that measures and one basket is at each end of the court. The white outlined box on the backboard is high and wide. At almost all levels of competition, the top of the rim is exactly above the court and inside the baseline. While variation is possible in the dimensions of the court and backboard, it is considered important for the basket to be of the correct height – a rim that is off by just a few inches can have an adverse effect on shooting. The net must "check the ball momentarily as it passes through the basket" to aid the visual confirmation that the ball went through. The act of checking the ball has the further advantage of slowing down the ball so the rebound doesn't go as far.


title: Basketball

text: The size of the basketball is also regulated. For men, the official ball is in circumference (size 7, or a "295 ball") and weighs . If women are playing, the official basketball size is in circumference (size 6, or a "285 ball") with a weight of . In 3x3, a formalized version of the halfcourt 3-on-3 game, a dedicated ball with the circumference of a size 6 ball but the weight of a size 7 ball is used in all competitions (men's, women's, and mixed teams).


title: Basketball

text: The ball may be advanced toward the basket by being shot, passed between players, thrown, tapped, rolled or dribbled (bouncing the ball while running).


title: Basketball

text: The ball must stay within the court; the last team to touch the ball before it travels out of bounds forfeits possession. The ball is out of bounds if it touches a boundary line, or touches any player or object that is out of bounds.


title: Basketball

text: There are limits placed on the steps a player may take without dribbling, which commonly results in an infraction known as traveling. Nor may a player stop his dribble and then resume dribbling. A dribble that touches both hands is considered stopping the dribble, giving this infraction the name double dribble. Within a dribble, the player cannot carry the ball by placing his hand on the bottom of the ball; doing so is known as carrying the ball. A team, once having established ball control in the front half of their court, may not return the ball to the backcourt and be the first to touch it. A violation of these rules results in loss of possession.


title: Basketball

text: The ball may not be kicked, nor be struck with the fist. For the offense, a violation of these rules results in loss of possession; for the defense, most leagues reset the shot clock and the offensive team is given possession of the ball out of bounds.


title: Basketball

text: There are limits imposed on the time taken before progressing the ball past halfway (8 seconds in FIBA and the NBA; 10 seconds in NCAA and high school for both sexes), before attempting a shot (24 seconds in FIBA, the NBA, and U Sports (Canadian universities) play for both sexes, and 30 seconds in NCAA play for both sexes), holding the ball while closely guarded (5 seconds), and remaining in the restricted area known as the free-throw lane, (or the "key") (3 seconds). These rules are designed to promote more offense.


title: Basketball

text: There are also limits on how players may block an opponent's field goal attempt or help a teammate's field goal attempt. Goaltending is a defender's touching of a ball that is on a downward flight toward the basket, while the related violation of basket interference is the touching of a ball that is on the rim or above the basket, or by a player reaching through the basket from below. Goaltending and basket interference committed by a defender result in awarding the basket to the offense, while basket interference committed by an offensive player results in cancelling the basket if one is scored. The defense gains possession in all cases of goaltending or basket interference.


title: Basketball

text: An attempt to unfairly disadvantage an opponent through certain types of physical contact is illegal and is called a personal foul. These are most commonly committed by defensive players; however, they can be committed by offensive players as well. Players who are fouled either receive the ball to pass inbounds again, or receive one or more free throws if they are fouled in the act of shooting, depending on whether the shot was successful. One point is awarded for making a free throw, which is attempted from a line from the basket.


title: Basketball

text: The referee is responsible for judging whether contact is illegal, sometimes resulting in controversy. The calling of fouls can vary between games, leagues and referees.


title: Basketball

text: There is a second category of fouls called technical fouls, which may be charged for various rules violations including failure to properly record a player in the scorebook, or for unsportsmanlike conduct. These infractions result in one or two free throws, which may be taken by any of the five players on the court at the time. Repeated incidents can result in disqualification. A blatant foul involving physical contact that is either excessive or unnecessary is called an intentional foul (flagrant foul in the NBA). In FIBA and NCAA women's basketball, a foul resulting in ejection is called a disqualifying foul, while in leagues other than the NBA, such a foul is referred to as flagrant.


title: Basketball

text: If a team exceeds a certain limit of team fouls in a given period (quarter or half) – four for NBA, NCAA women's, and international games – the opposing team is awarded one or two free throws on all subsequent non-shooting fouls for that period, the number depending on the league. In the US college men's game and high school games for both sexes, if a team reaches 7 fouls in a half, the opposing team is awarded one free throw, along with a second shot if the first is made. This is called shooting "one-and-one". If a team exceeds 10 fouls in the half, the opposing team is awarded two free throws on all subsequent fouls for the half.


title: Basketball

text: When a team shoots foul shots, the opponents may not interfere with the shooter, nor may they try to regain possession until the last or potentially last free throw is in the air.


title: Basketball

text: After a team has committed a specified number of fouls, the other team is said to be "in the bonus". On scoreboards, this is usually signified with an indicator light reading "Bonus" or "Penalty" with an illuminated directional arrow or dot indicating that team is to receive free throws when fouled by the opposing team. (Some scoreboards also indicate the number of fouls committed.)


title: Basketball

text: If a team misses the first shot of a two-shot situation, the opposing team must wait for the completion of the second shot before attempting to reclaim possession of the ball and continuing play.


title: Basketball

text: If a player is fouled while attempting a shot and the shot is unsuccessful, the player is awarded a number of free throws equal to the value of the attempted shot. A player fouled while attempting a regular two-point shot thus receives two shots, and a player fouled while attempting a three-point shot receives three shots.


title: Basketball

text: If a player is fouled while attempting a shot and the shot is successful, typically the player will be awarded one additional free throw for one point. In combination with a regular shot, this is called a "three-point play" or "four-point play" (or more colloquially, an "and one") because of the basket made at the time of the foul (2 or 3 points) and the additional free throw (1 point).


title: Basketball

text: Although the rules do not specify any positions whatsoever, they have evolved as part of basketball. During the early years of basketball's evolution, two guards, two forwards, and one center were used. In more recent times specific positions evolved, but the current trend, advocated by many top coaches including Mike Krzyzewski, is towards positionless basketball, where big players are free to shoot from outside and dribble if their skill allows it. Popular descriptions of positions include:


title: Basketball

text: Point guard (often called the "1") : usually the fastest player on the team, organizes the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that it gets to the right player at the right time.


title: Basketball

text: Shooting guard (the "2") : creates a high volume of shots on offense, mainly long-ranged; and guards the opponent's best perimeter player on defense.


title: Basketball

text: Small forward (the "3") : often primarily responsible for scoring points via cuts to the basket and dribble penetration; on defense seeks rebounds and steals, but sometimes plays more actively.


title: Basketball

text: Power forward (the "4"): plays offensively often with their back to the basket; on defense, plays under the basket (in a zone defense) or against the opposing power forward (in man-to-man defense).


title: Basketball

text: Center (the "5"): uses height and size to score (on offense), to protect the basket closely (on defense), or to rebound.


title: Basketball

text: The above descriptions are flexible. For most teams today, the shooting guard and small forward have very similar responsibilities and are often called the wings, as do the power forward and center, who are often called post players. While most teams describe two players as guards, two as forwards, and one as a center, on some occasions teams choose to call them by different designations.


title: Basketball

text: There are two main defensive strategies: "zone defense" and "man-to-man defense". In a zone defense, each player is assigned to guard a specific area of the court. Zone defenses often allow the defense to double team the ball, a manoeuver known as a trap. In a man-to-man defense, each defensive player guards a specific opponent.


title: Basketball

text: Offensive plays are more varied, normally involving planned passes and movement by players without the ball. A quick movement by an offensive player without the ball to gain an advantageous position is known as a "cut". A legal attempt by an offensive player to stop an opponent from guarding a teammate, by standing in the defender's way such that the teammate cuts next to him, is a "screen" or "pick". The two plays are combined in the "pick and roll", in which a player sets a pick and then "rolls" away from the pick towards the basket. Screens and cuts are very important in offensive plays; these allow the quick passes and teamwork, which can lead to a successful basket. Teams almost always have several offensive plays planned to ensure their movement is not predictable. On court, the point guard is usually responsible for indicating which play will occur.


title: Basketball

text: Shooting is the act of attempting to score points by throwing the ball through the basket, methods varying with players and situations.


title: Basketball

text: Typically, a player faces the basket with both feet facing the basket. A player will rest the ball on the fingertips of the dominant hand (the shooting arm) slightly above the head, with the other hand supporting the side of the ball. The ball is usually shot by jumping (though not always) and extending the shooting arm. The shooting arm, fully extended with the wrist fully bent, is held stationary for a moment following the release of the ball, known as a "follow-through". Players often try to put a steady backspin on the ball to absorb its impact with the rim. The ideal trajectory of the shot is somewhat controversial, but generally a proper arc is recommended. Players may shoot directly into the basket or may use the backboard to redirect the ball into the basket.


title: Basketball

text: The two most common shots that use the above described setup are the "set shot" and the "jump shot". Both are preceded by a crouching action which preloads the muscles and increases the power of the shot. In a set shot, the shooter straightens up and throws from a standing position with neither foot leaving the floor; this is typically used for free throws. For a jump shot, the throw is taken in mid-air with the ball being released near the top of the jump. This provides much greater power and range, and it also allows the player to elevate over the defender. Failure to release the ball before the feet return to the floor is considered a traveling violation.


title: Basketball

text: Another common shot is called the "layup". This shot requires the player to be in motion toward the basket, and to "lay" the ball "up" and into the basket, typically off the backboard (the backboard-free, underhand version is called a "finger roll"). The most crowd-pleasing and typically highest-percentage accuracy shot is the "slam dunk", in which the player jumps very high and throws the ball downward, through the basket while touching it.


title: Basketball

text: Another shot that is less common than the layup, is the "circus shot". The circus shot is a low-percentage shot that is flipped, heaved, scooped, or flung toward the hoop while the shooter is off-balance, airborne, falling down, and/or facing away from the basket. A back-shot is a shot taken when the player is facing away from the basket, and may be shot with the dominant hand, or both; but there is a very low chance that the shot will be successful.


title: Basketball

text: A shot that misses both the rim and the backboard completely is referred to as an "air ball". A particularly bad shot, or one that only hits the backboard, is jocularly called a brick. The "hang time" is the length of time a player stays in the air after jumping, either to make a slam dunk, layup or jump shot.


title: Basketball

text: The objective of rebounding is to successfully gain possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw, as it rebounds from the hoop or backboard. This plays a major role in the game, as most possessions end when a team misses a shot. There are two categories of rebounds: offensive rebounds, in which the ball is recovered by the offensive side and does not change possession, and defensive rebounds, in which the defending team gains possession of the loose ball. The majority of rebounds are defensive, as the team on defense tends to be in better position to recover missed shots.


title: Basketball

text: A pass is a method of moving the ball between players. Most passes are accompanied by a step forward to increase power and are followed through with the hands to ensure accuracy.


title: Basketball

text: A staple pass is the "chest pass". The ball is passed directly from the passer's chest to the receiver's chest. A proper chest pass involves an outward snap of the thumbs to add velocity and leaves the defence little time to react.


title: Basketball

text: Another type of pass is the "bounce pass". Here, the passer bounces the ball crisply about two-thirds of the way from his own chest to the receiver. The ball strikes the court and bounces up toward the receiver. The bounce pass takes longer to complete than the chest pass, but it is also harder for the opposing team to intercept (kicking the ball deliberately is a violation). Thus, players often use the bounce pass in crowded moments, or to pass around a defender.


title: Basketball

text: The "overhead pass" is used to pass the ball over a defender. The ball is released while over the passer's head.


title: Basketball

text: The "outlet pass" occurs after a team gets a defensive rebound. The next pass after the rebound is the "outlet pass".


title: Basketball

text: The crucial aspect of any good pass is it being difficult to intercept. Good passers can pass the ball with great accuracy and they know exactly where each of their other teammates prefers to receive the ball. A special way of doing this is passing the ball without looking at the receiving teammate. This is called a "no-look pass".


title: Basketball

text: Another advanced style of passing is the "behind-the-back pass", which, as the description implies, involves throwing the ball behind the passer's back to a teammate. Although some players can perform such a pass effectively, many coaches discourage no-look or behind-the-back passes, believing them to be difficult to control and more likely to result in turnovers or violations.


title: Basketball

text: Dribbling is the act of bouncing the ball continuously with one hand and is a requirement for a player to take steps with the ball. To dribble, a player pushes the ball down towards the ground with the fingertips rather than patting it; this ensures greater control.


title: Basketball

text: When dribbling past an opponent, the dribbler should dribble with the hand farthest from the opponent, making it more difficult for the defensive player to get to the ball. It is therefore important for a player to be able to dribble competently with both hands.


title: Basketball

text: Good dribblers (or "ball handlers") tend to keep their dribbling hand low to the ground, reducing the distance of travel of the ball from the floor to the hand, making it more difficult for the defender to "steal" the ball. Good ball handlers frequently dribble behind their backs, between their legs, and switch directions suddenly, making a less predictable dribbling pattern that is more difficult to defend against. This is called a crossover, which is the most effective way to move past defenders while dribbling.


title: Basketball

text: A skilled player can dribble without watching the ball, using the dribbling motion or peripheral vision to keep track of the ball's location. By not having to focus on the ball, a player can look for teammates or scoring opportunities, as well as avoid the danger of having someone steal the ball away from him/her.


title: Basketball

text: A block is performed when, after a shot is attempted, a defender succeeds in altering the shot by touching the ball. In almost all variants of play, it is illegal to touch the ball after it is in the downward path of its arc; this is known as "goaltending". It is also illegal under NBA and Men's NCAA basketball to block a shot after it has touched the backboard, or when any part of the ball is directly above the rim. Under international rules it is illegal to block a shot that is in the downward path of its arc or one that has touched the backboard until the ball has hit the rim. After the ball hits the rim, it is again legal to touch it even though it is no longer considered as a block performed.


title: Basketball

text: To block a shot, a player has to be able to reach a point higher than where the shot is released. Thus, height can be an advantage in blocking. Players who are taller and playing the power forward or center positions generally record more blocks than players who are shorter and playing the guard positions. However, with good timing and a sufficiently high vertical leap, even shorter players can be effective shot blockers.


title: Basketball

text: At the professional level, most male players are above and most women above . Guards, for whom physical coordination and ball-handling skills are crucial, tend to be the smallest players. Almost all forwards in the top men's pro leagues are or taller. Most centers are over tall. According to a survey given to all NBA teams, the average height of all NBA players is just under , with the average weight being close to . The tallest players ever in the NBA were Manute Bol and Gheorghe Mureșan, who were both tall. At , Margo Dydek was the tallest player in the history of the WNBA.


title: Basketball

text: The shortest player ever to play in the NBA is Muggsy Bogues at . Other average-height or relatively short players have thrived at the pro level, including Anthony "Spud" Webb, who was tall, but had a vertical leap, giving him significant height when jumping, and Temeka Johnson, who won the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award and a championship with the Phoenix Mercury while standing only . While shorter players are often at a disadvantage in certain aspects of the game, their ability to navigate quickly through crowded areas of the court and steal the ball by reaching low are strengths.


title: Basketball

text: Players regularly inflate their height in high school or college. Many prospects exaggerate their height while in high school or college to make themselves more appealing to coaches and scouts, who prefer taller players. Charles Barkley stated; "I've been measured at 6-5, 6-. But I started in college at 6-6." Sam Smith, a former writer from the "Chicago Tribune", said: "We sort of know the heights, because after camp, the sheet comes out. But you use that height, and the player gets mad. And then you hear from his agent. Or you file your story with the right height, and the copy desk changes it because they have the 'official' N.B.A. media guide, which is wrong. So you sort of go along with the joke."


title: Basketball

text: Since the 2019-20 NBA season heights of NBA players are recorded definitively by measuring players with their shoes off.


title: Basketball

text: Variations of basketball are activities based on the game of basketball, using common basketball skills and equipment (primarily the ball and basket). Some variations only have superficial rule changes, while others are distinct games with varying degrees of influence from basketball. Other variations include children's games, contests or activities meant to help players reinforce skills.


title: Basketball

text: An earlier version of basketball, played primarily by women and girls, was Six-on-six basketball. Horseball is a game played on horseback where a ball is handled and points are scored by shooting it through a high net (approximately 1.5m×1.5m). The sport is like a combination of polo, rugby, and basketball. There is even a form played on donkeys known as Donkey basketball, which has attracted criticism from animal rights groups.


title: Basketball

text: Perhaps the single most common variation of basketball is the half-court game, played in informal settings without referees or strict rules. Only one basket is used, and the ball must be "taken back" or "cleared" – passed or dribbled outside the three-point line each time possession of the ball changes from one team to the other. Half-court games require less cardiovascular stamina, since players need not run back and forth a full court. Half-court raises the number of players that can use a court or, conversely, can be played if there is an insufficient number to form full 5-on-5 teams.


title: Basketball

text: Half-court basketball is usually played 1-on-1, 2-on-2 or 3-on-3. The latter variation is gradually gaining official recognition as 3x3, originally known as FIBA 33. It was first tested at the 2007 Asian Indoor Games in Macau and the first official tournaments were held at the 2009 Asian Youth Games and the 2010 Youth Olympics, both in Singapore. The first FIBA 3x3 Youth World Championships were held in Rimini, Italy in 2011, with the first FIBA 3x3 World Championships for senior teams following a year later in Athens. The sport is highly tipped to become an Olympic sport as early as 2016. In the summer of 2017, the BIG3 basketball league, a professional 3x3 half court basketball league that features former NBA players, began. The BIG3 features several rule variants including a four-point field goal.


title: Basketball

text: Basketball as a social and communal sport features environments, rules and demographics different from those seen in professional and televised basketball.


title: Basketball

text: Basketball is played widely as an extracurricular, intramural or amateur sport in schools and colleges. Notable institutions of recreational basketball include:


title: Basketball

text: Fantasy basketball was popularized during the 1990s by ESPN Fantasy Sports, NBA.com, and Yahoo! Fantasy Sports. On the model of fantasy baseball and football, players create fictional teams, select professional basketball players to "play" on these teams through a mock draft or trades, then calculate points based on the players' real-world performance.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Star Wars (retroactively titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) is a 1977 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas, produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the first film in the "Star Wars" film series and fourth chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". Set "a long time ago" in a fictional universe where the galaxy is ruled by the tyrannical Galactic Empire, the story focuses on a group of freedom fighters known as the Rebel Alliance, who aim to destroy the Empire's newest weapon, the Death Star. Luke Skywalker becomes caught in the conflict while learning the ways of a metaphysical power known as "the Force" from Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. The cast includes Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, David Prowse, James Earl Jones, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Peter Mayhew.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Lucas had the idea for a science-fiction film in the vein of "Flash Gordon" around the time he completed his first film, "THX 1138" (1971) and began working on a treatment after the release of "American Graffiti" (1973). After numerous rewrites, filming took place throughout 1975 and 1976 in locations including Tunisia and Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England. The film suffered production difficulties; cast and crew involved believed the film would be a failure. Lucas formed the production company Industrial Light & Magic to help create the film's special effects. It also went $3 million over budget due to multiple delays.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: "Star Wars" was released in a limited number of theaters in the United States on May 25, 1977 and quickly became a blockbuster hit, leading to it being expanded to a much wider release. The film opened to critical acclaim for its acting, direction, story, musical score, action sequences, sound, editing, screenplay, costume design, and production values, but particularly for its groundbreaking visual effects. It grossed over $550 million during its initial run, surpassing "Jaws" (1975) to become the highest-grossing film until the release of "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982); subsequent releases brought its total gross to $775 million. When adjusted for inflation, "Star Wars" is the second-highest-grossing film in North America (behind "Gone with the Wind") and the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time. It received numerous awards at the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, Saturn Awards, among others.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: The film has been reissued many times with Lucas's support—most significantly with its 20th-anniversary theatrical "Special Edition"—incorporating many changes including modified computer-generated effects, altered dialogue, shots, remixed soundtracks and added scenes. Often regarded as one of the greatest and most important films in the history of cinema, the film became a pop-cultural phenomenon, launching an industry of tie-in products, including novels, comics, video games, amusement park attractions and including toys, games, and clothing. It became one of the first 25 films selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1989, while its soundtrack was added to the U.S. National Recording Registry in 2004. "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Return of the Jedi" (1983) followed "Star Wars", rounding out the original "Star Wars" trilogy. A prequel and a sequel trilogy have since been released, in addition to two anthology films and various television series.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Amid a galactic civil war, Rebel Alliance spies have stolen plans to the Galactic Empire's Death Star, a massive space station capable of destroying entire planets. Imperial Senator Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, secretly one of the Rebellion's leaders, has obtained its schematics, but her starship is intercepted by an Imperial Star Destroyer under the command of the ruthless Darth Vader. Before she is captured, Leia hides the plans in the memory system of astromech droid , who flees in an escape pod to the nearby desert planet Tatooine alongside his companion, protocol droid .


title: Star Wars (film)

text: The droids are captured by Jawa traders, who sell them to moisture farmers Owen and Beru Lars and their step-nephew Luke Skywalker. While Luke is cleaning , he discovers a holographic recording of Leia requesting help from an Obi-Wan Kenobi. Later, after Luke finds R2-D2 missing, he is attacked by scavenging Sand People while searching for him, but is rescued by elderly hermit "Old Ben" Kenobi, an acquaintance of Luke's, who reveals that "Obi-Wan" is his true name. Obi-Wan tells Luke of his days as one of the Jedi Knights, the former peacekeepers of the Galactic Republic who drew mystical abilities from a metaphysical energy field known as "the Force", but were ultimately hunted to near-extinction by the Empire. Luke learns that his father fought alongside Obi-Wan as a Jedi Knight during the Clone Wars until Vader, Obi-Wan's former pupil, turned to the dark side of the Force and murdered him. Obi-Wan offers Luke his father's old lightsaber, the signature weapon of Jedi Knights.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: R2-D2 plays Leia's full message, in which she begs Obi-Wan to take the Death Star plans to her home planet of Alderaan and give them to her father, a fellow veteran, for analysis. Although Luke initially declines Obi-Wan's offer to accompany him to Alderaan and learn the ways of the Force, he is left with no choice after discovering that Imperial stormtroopers have killed his aunt and uncle and destroyed their farm in their search for the droids. Traveling to a cantina in Mos Eisley to search for transport, Luke and Obi-Wan hire Han Solo, a smuggler with a price on his head due to his debt to local mobster Jabba the Hutt. Pursued by stormtroopers, Obi-Wan, Luke, R2-D2, and flee Tatooine with Han and his Wookiee Chewbacca on their ship the "Millennium Falcon".


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Before the "Falcon" can reach Alderaan, Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin destroys the planet in a show of force after interrogating Leia for the location of the Rebel Alliance's base. Upon arrival, the "Falcon" is captured by the Death Star's tractor beam, but the group manages to evade capture by hiding in the ship's smuggling compartments. As Obi-Wan leaves to disable the tractor beam, Luke persuades Han and Chewbacca to help him rescue Leia after discovering that she is scheduled to be executed. After disabling the tractor beam, Obi-Wan sacrifices himself in a lightsaber duel against Vader, allowing the rest of the group to escape the Death Star with Leia. Using a tracking device, the Empire tracks the "Falcon" to the hidden Rebel base on Yavin IV.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: The schematics reveal a hidden weakness in the Death Star's thermal exhaust port, which could allow the Rebels to trigger a chain reaction in its main reactor with a precise proton torpedo strike. While Han abandons the Rebels after collecting his reward for rescuing Leia, Luke joins their X-wing starfighter squadron in a desperate attack against the approaching Death Star. In the ensuing battle, the Rebels suffer heavy losses as Vader leads a squadron of TIE fighters against them. Han and Chewbacca unexpectedly return to aid them in the "Falcon", and knock Vader's ship off course before he can shoot down Luke. Guided by the disembodied voice of Obi-Wan's spirit, Luke uses the Force to aim his torpedoes into the exhaust port, destroying the Death Star moments before it fires on the Rebel base. In a triumphant ceremony at the base, Leia awards Luke and Han medals for their heroism.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Other actors include Phil Brown and Shelagh Fraser as Luke's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru; Jack Purvis, Kenny Baker's partner in his London comedy act, as the Chief Jawa in the film; and Eddie Byrne as Vanden Willard, a Rebel general. Denis Lawson and Garrick Hagon played rebel pilots Wedge Antilles and Biggs Darklighter (Luke's childhood friend), respectively. Don Henderson and Leslie Schofield appear as Imperial Generals Cassio Tagge and Moradmin Bast, respectively, and Richard LeParmentier plays Admiral Motti. Alex McCrindle portrays General Jan Dodonna, Alfie Curtis portrays Dr. Evazan, and Peter Geddis portrays Captain Raymus Antilles. Michael Leader plays a minor role as a Stormtrooper known for accidentally hitting his helmet against a door. Heavily synthesised audio recordings of John Wayne from earlier films were used as the voice of the Imperial spy Garindan. Robert Clarke appears as Imperial officer Wulff Yularen and Patrick Jordan plays another Imperial officer, Siward Cass.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Lucas had the idea for a space-fantasy film in 1971, after he completed directing his first full-length feature, "THX 1138." Originally, Lucas wanted to adapt the "Flash Gordon" space adventure comics and serials into his own films, having been fascinated by them since he was young. He later said:


title: Star Wars (film)

text: I especially loved the "Flash Gordon" serials ... Of course I realize now how crude and badly done they were ... loving them that much when they were so awful, I began to wonder what would happen if they were done really well.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: At the Cannes Film Festival following the completion of "THX 1138," Lucas pushed towards buying the "Flash Gordon" rights, but they were already tied-up with Dino De Laurentiis. Lucas later recounted:


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Director Francis Ford Coppola, who accompanied Lucas in trying to buy the "Flash Gordon" rights, recounted in 1999: "[George] was very depressed because he had just come back and they wouldn't sell him "Flash Gordon". And he says, 'Well, I'll just invent my own. He secured a two-film development deal with United Artists; the two films were "American Graffiti" and a space opera, tentatively titled ""The Star Wars"" and inspired by "Flash Gordon". Lucas would later claim that he had the idea for an original space opera long before 1971, and that he even tried to film it before "American Graffiti". Believing that the bleak tone of "THX 1138" led to its poor reception, Lucas chose to make "Star Wars" more optimistic; this is what led to its fun and adventurous tone.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Lucas went to United Artists and showed them the script for "American Graffiti", but they passed on the film, which was then picked up by Universal Pictures. United Artists also passed on Lucas's space-opera concept, which he shelved for the time being. After spending the next two years completing "American Graffiti", Lucas turned his attention to his space opera. He drew inspiration from politics of the era, later saying, "It was really about the Vietnam War, and that was the period where Nixon was trying to run for a [second] term."


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Lucas began writing in January 1973, "eight hours a day, five days a week", by taking small notes, inventing odd names and assigning them possible characterizations. Lucas would discard many of these by the time the final script was written, but he included several names and places in the final script or its sequels. He used these initial names and ideas to compile a two-page synopsis titled "Journal of the Whills", which told the tale of the training of apprentice CJ Thorpe as a "Jedi-Bendu" space commando by the legendary Mace Windy. Frustrated that his story was too difficult to understand, Lucas then began writing a 13-page treatment called "The Star Wars" on April 17, 1973, which had narrative parallels with Kurosawa's 1958 film "The Hidden Fortress".


title: Star Wars (film)

text: While impressed with the "innocence of the story, plus the sophistication of the world" of the film, United Artists declined to budget the film. Lucas and producer Gary Kurtz presented the film treatment to Universal Pictures, the studio that financed "American Graffiti"; while they agreed it could be "a very commercial venture", they had doubts about Mr. Lucas's ability to pull it all off, and said that Lucas should follow "American Graffiti" with more consequential themes. Coppola brought the project to a division of Paramount Pictures he ran with fellow directors Peter Bogdanovich and William Friedkin, but Friedkin questioned Lucas's ability to direct the film and he, along with Bogdanovich, declined to back it.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Lucas said, "I've always been an outsider to Hollywood types. They think I do weirdo films." According to Kurtz, Lew Wasserman, the head of Universal, "just didn't think much of science fiction at that time, didn't think it had much of a future then, with that particular audience." He said that "science fiction wasn't popular in the mid-'70s ... what seems to be the case generally is that the studio executives are looking for what was popular last year, rather than trying to look forward to what might be popular next year." Kurtz said, "Although "Star Wars" wasn't like [then-current science fiction] at all, it was just sort of lumped into that same kind of category."


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Lucas explained in 1977 that the film is not "about the future" and that it "is a fantasy much closer to the Brothers Grimm than it is to ." He added: "My main reason for making it was to give young people an honest, wholesome fantasy life, the kind my generation had. We had Westerns, pirate movies, all kinds of great things. Now they have "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "Kojak". Where are the romance, the adventure, and the fun that used to be in practically every movie made?" Lucas would later recontextualize the discussion around the film, saying it was born out of research into "psychological underpinings of mythology", a claim that had been dismissed by Kurtz as self-aggrandizing: "The whole idea of Star Wars as a mythological thing, I think came about because of [later Lucas] interviews that tied it to "The Hero with a Thousand Faces"" and by Steven Hart and Michael Kaminski: "It is here that the true origin of "Star Wars" comes from – not from myth and legend, but from the 'schlock' sold on newspapers stands and played in matinees."


title: Star Wars (film)

text: There were also concerns regarding the project's potentially high budget. Lucas and Kurtz, in pitching the film, said that it would be "low-budget, Roger Corman style, and the budget was never going to be more than—well, originally we had proposed about 8 million, it ended up being about 10. Both of those figures are very low budget by Hollywood standards at the time." After Walt Disney Productions turned down the project, Lucas and Kurtz persisted in securing a studio to support the film because "other people had read it and said, 'Yeah, it could be a good idea. Lucas pursued Alan Ladd Jr., the head of 20th Century-Fox, and in June 1973 completed a deal to write and direct the film. Although Ladd did not grasp the technical side of the project, he believed that Lucas was talented. Lucas later stated that Ladd "invested in me, he did not invest in the movie." The deal gave Lucas $150,000 to write and direct the film. "American Graffiti"s positive reception afforded Lucas the leverage necessary to renegotiate his deal with Ladd and request the sequel rights to the film in August 1973. For Lucas, this deal protected "Star Wars"s potential sequels and most of the merchandising profits.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Since commencing his writing process in January 1973, Lucas had done "various rewrites in the evenings after the day's work." He would write four different screenplays for "Star Wars", "searching for just the right ingredients, characters and storyline. It's always been what you might call a good idea in search of a story." By May 1974, he had expanded the treatment for "The Star Wars" into a rough draft screenplay, adding elements such as the Sith, the Death Star, and a general by the name of Annikin Starkiller. He changed Starkiller to an adolescent boy, and he shifted the general into a supporting role as a member of a family of dwarfs. Lucas envisioned the Corellian smuggler, Han Solo, as a large, green-skinned monster with gills. He based Chewbacca on his Alaskan Malamute dog, Indiana (whom he would later use as eponym for his character Indiana Jones), who often acted as the director's "co-pilot" by sitting in the passenger seat of his car.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Lucas completed a second draft in January 1975 as "Adventures of the Starkiller, Episode One: The Star Wars", making heavy simplifications and introducing the young hero on a farm as Luke Starkiller. Annikin became Luke's father, a wise Jedi knight. "The Force" was also introduced as a mystical energy field. This draft still had some differences from the final version in the characters and relationships. For example, Luke had several brothers, as well as his father, who appears in a minor role at the end of the film. The script became more of a fairy tale quest as opposed to the action/adventure of the previous versions. This version ended with another text crawl, previewing the next story in the series. This draft was also the first to introduce the concept of a Jedi turning to the dark side: the draft included a historical Jedi who was the first to ever fall to the dark side, and then trained the Sith to use it. The script would introduce the concept of a Jedi Master and his son, who trains to be a Jedi under his father's friend; this would ultimately form the basis for the film and, later, the trilogy. However, in this draft, the father is a hero who is still alive at the start of the film. Han Solo and Chewbacca's identities closely resembled those seen in the finished film. According to Lucas, the second draft was over 200 pages long, and led him to split up the story into multiple films spanning over multiple trilogies.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Lucas began to rewrite this draft, creating a synopsis for the third draft. During work on this rewrite, Lucas began researching the science-fiction genre by watching films and reading books (including J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit")"" and comics. He also claims to have read scholastic works like Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces", James George Frazer's "The Golden Bough", and even Bruno Bettelheim's "The Uses of Enchantment." These claims are doubted by Michael Kaminski and Chris Taylor, with Kaminski pointing out that Bettelheim's book would not come out until after "Star Wars" was filmed and adding that "the original trilogy-Campbell connection is greatly exaggerated and practically non-existent", noting that, in fact, the second draft is "even closer to Campbell's structure" than the third.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: According to Lucas, he wrote a rough draft of about 250–300 pages long, which contained the outline for the entire original "Star Wars" trilogy. He realized that it was too long for a single film, and decided to subdivide it into a trilogy. Lucas stated that the story evolved over time and that "There was never a script completed that had the entire story as it exists now [in 1983] ... As the stories unfolded, I would take certain ideas and save them ... I kept taking out all the good parts, and I just kept telling myself I would make other movies someday." He later described that, having split the script into three episodes, "the first part didn't really work", so he had to take the ending off of "Episode VI" and put it in the original "Star Wars", which resulted in a Death Star being included in both films. In 1975, Lucas suggested he could make a trilogy, which "ends with the destruction of the Empire" and a possible prequel "about the backstory of Kenobi as a young man". After the film's smash success, Lucasfilm announced that Lucas had already written "twelve stories in the "Adventures of Luke Skywalker"" which, according to Kurtz, were set to be "separate adventures rather than direct sequels."


title: Star Wars (film)

text: During the writing of the third draft, Lucas hired conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie to create paintings of certain scenes, several of which Lucas included with his screenplay when he delivered it to 20th Century-Fox. On February 27, the studio granted a budget of $5 million; this was later increased to $8.25 million. Subsequently, Lucas started writing with a budget in mind, conceiving the cheap, "used" look of much of the film, and (with Fox having just shut down its special effects department) reducing the number of complex special effects shots called for by the script.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: The third draft, dated August 1, 1975, was titled "The Star Wars From the Adventures of Luke Starkiller". This third draft had most of the elements of the final plot, with only some differences in the characters and settings. The draft characterized Luke as an only child, with his father already dead, replacing him with a substitute named Ben Kenobi. This script would be re-written for the fourth and final draft, dated January 1, 1976, as "The Adventures of Luke Starkiller as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars". Lucas worked with his friends Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck to revise the fourth draft into the final pre-production script.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Lucas finished writing his script in March 1976, when the crew started filming. He said, "What finally emerged through the many drafts of the script has obviously been influenced by science-fiction and action-adventure I've read and seen. And I've seen a lot of it. I'm trying to make a classic sort of genre picture, a classic space fantasy in which all the influences are working together. There are certain traditional aspects of the genre I wanted to keep and help perpetuate in "Star Wars"." During production, he changed Luke's name from Starkiller to Skywalker and altered the title to "The Star Wars" and later "Star Wars". He would also continue to tweak the script during filming, including adding the death of Obi-Wan after realizing he served no purpose in the ending of the film.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: For the film's opening crawl, Lucas originally wrote a composition consisting of six paragraphs with four sentences each. He said, "The crawl is such a hard thing because you have to be careful that you're not using too many words that people don't understand. It's like a poem." Lucas showed his draft to his friends. Director Brian De Palma, who was there, described it: "The crawl at the beginning looks like it was written on a driveway. It goes on forever. It's gibberish." Lucas recounted what De Palma said the first time he saw it: "George, you're out of your mind! Let me sit down and write this for you." De Palma and Jay Cocks helped edit the text into the form used in the film.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: George Lucas recruited many conceptual designers, including Colin Cantwell, who worked on "" (1968), to conceptualize the initial spacecraft models; Alex Tavoularis to create the preliminary conceptual storyboard sketches of early scripts; and Ralph McQuarrie to visualize the characters, costumes, props, and scenery. McQuarrie's pre-production paintings of certain scenes from Lucas's early screenplay drafts helped 20th Century-Fox visualize the film, which positively influenced their decision to fund the project. After McQuarrie's drawings for Lucas's colleagues Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins (who were collaborating for a film) caught his interest, Lucas met with McQuarrie to discuss his plans for the untitled space fantasy film he wanted to make. Two years later, after completing "American Graffiti", Lucas approached McQuarrie and asked him if he would be interested "in doing something for "Star Wars"." McQuarrie produced a series of artworks from simple sketches; these set a visual tone for the film, and for the rest of the original trilogy.


title: Star Wars (film)

text: The film was ambitious as Lucas wanted to create fresh prop prototypes and sets (based on McQuarrie's paintings) that had never been realized before in science fiction films. He commissioned production designers John Barry and Roger Christian, who were working on the sets of the film "Lucky Lady" (1975) when Lucas first approached them, to work on the production sets. Christian recounted in 2014: "George came to the set I was doing, it was an old salt factory design and he helped me shovel salt, just like two students in plaid shirts and sneakers. And we spoke and he looked at the set and couldn't believe it wasn't real." They had a conversation with Lucas on what he would like the film to appear like, with them creating the desired sets. Christian said that Lucas "didn't want anything [in "Star Wars"] to stand out, he wanted it [to look] all real and used. And I said, 'Finally somebody's doing it the right way.'"


title: Star Wars (film)

text: Lucas described a "used future" concept to the production designers in which all devices, ships, and buildings to do with Tatooine or the Rebels looked aged and dirty, as opposed to the sleeker designs of the Empire. Lucas also wanted the spaceships to look "cobbled together, as opposed to a sleek monoshape." Barry said that the director "wants to make it look like it's shot on location on your average everyday Death Star or Mos Eisley Spaceport or local cantina." Lucas believed that "what is required for true credibility is a used future", opposing the interpretation of "future in most futurist movies" that "always looks new and clean and shiny." Christian supported Lucas's vision, saying "All science fiction before was very plastic and stupid uniforms and "Flash Gordon" stuff. Nothing was new. George was going right against that."


title: Star Wars (film)

text: The designers started working with the director before "Star Wars" was approved by 20th Century-Fox. For four to five months, in a studio in Kensal Rise, England, they attempted to plan the creation of the props and sets with "no money." Although Lucas initially provided funds using his earnings from "American Graffiti", it was inadequate. As they could not afford to dress the sets, Christian was forced to use unconventional methods and materials to achieve the desired look. He suggested that Lucas use scrap in making the dressings, and the director agreed. Christian said, "I've always had this idea. I used to do it with models when I was a kid. I'd stick things on them and we'd make things look old." Barry, Christian, and their team began designing the props and sets at Elstree Studios.