If you're a basketball player who likes the idea of a tight layer of fabric around your leg muscles, compression tights or shorts may be for you. As of 2013, it's debatable if they actually help your performance or health.

The WNBA, short for the Women's National Basketball Association, is a professional basketball league that was formed in 1996 in the United States.

Building a slimmer body doesn't have to start with a trip to the gym. If you're not the type of person who's had success with repetitive, solo workouts such as jogging and cycling, grab a basketball, recruit some friends and use this fast-paced sport to shed some pounds.

An old basketball adage says that you "can't coach size." Many people think that in order to be a great basketball player, you have to be tall and play above the rim, pulling down rebounds, blocking shots and throwing down monster dunks.

Basketballs go through plenty of wear-and-tear during games and practices, not to mention just shooting hoops in the driveway. As such, it should come as no surprise when your ball begins to leak.

Using the wrong type of shoes for a sport can lead to soreness and injury. Running a few miles one time in your basketball shoes is unlikely to cause permanent harm. But making a habit of running in basketball shoes can slow you down, negatively affect your form and even cause injury.

Basketball requires quick stops and starts during the fast-paced game, requiring fancy footwork. Without the proper shoes, toenails are often a casualty of the game. To make matters worse, sore toenails could affect your game in the long run if you don't have them treated and address their cause quickly.

Basketball is a limited contact sport. Offensive players generally have the right of way on the court, with or without the basketball. Most forms of defensive contact with an offensive players may result in a foul.

The rules of basketball at any level include provisions for determining fouls, such as the offensive pushing foul. Any personal foul, including the offensive pushing foul, involves a player making illegal contact with an opposing player while the ball is live.

If anyone has ever played organized basketball, the terms "suicides" and "gassers" make them cringe. These cardio exercises use the lines on the court to mark off running points for the suicides.

Basketball is a game that requires you to not only be physically prepared but also mentally ready. You can spend hours working on technique and fundamentals, but if you do not prepare yourself to compete from all angles, you will have a hard time being successful.

If you have watched a professional basketball game since 1997 or a college basketball game since 2012, you may have noticed a semi-circle in the foul lane. This area on the basketball court is known as the restricted zone.