Orfi Discovers: Basketball 


Welcome to Orfi Discovers, a companion blog to our Orfi Discovers series in which we explore sports and fitness activities that you may not have heard of, but we think you'd love. To begin, we start off with our thoughts on basketball.


LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Micheal Jordan...

Over its years basketball has generated some global superstars, making it not only one of the biggest sports in the world, but also influencing the music, film and fashion industry.  

But for those unfamiliar with the sport, here’s a quick rundown. 

The rules are, for the most part, pretty simple.

Set over four fast paced quarters, the aim of the game is for your team to outscore the opposition by throwing a ball into a hoop three meters above the ground.

Pretty straightforward, right? Well, there are plenty more detailed rules to learn, some of which we cover in the video, but these are just the basics. 

And while the 120-year-old game has certainly evolved, the fundamentals haven’t really changed.

All you need to play is a couple of friends, a ball and a hoop, all of which are easily accessible.

But before we started playing, we wanted to speak to Stephen Graham, former professional basketball player and coach, to understand how someone can get involved with basketball in the UK.

‘Basketball is big enough’ 

“There’s always somewhere close by to play.

“Basketball is big enough to find a club nearby for every age group.

“Just simply search basketball online and you’ll find somewhere, definitely.”

This is what Stephen Graham had to say about the current state of basketball in the country.

While basketball might not be as big in the UK as it is worldwide, there are certainly plenty of opportunities to go and play at every level.

So, basketball is certainly accessible, but why should you seek it out? 


It’s ‘a game with something for everyone’

These aren't our words, but the words of the British Basketball League, who also highlighted that basketball is 'totally inclusive for all shapes, sizes, interests and abilities'.

And we agree, it's an extremely accessible sport!

From walking basketball to the top level of the NBA, there’s a level of ability for everyone to get involved.

While Andy, our copywriter turned basketball beginner, made it look difficult at times, it’s quite easy to pick up the basics.

After the lessons from Stephen and Manchester Walking Basketball, we certainly felt pretty confident in our abilities.  


The complete workout

"Basketball is a total-body workout: You have the cardio piece from running up and down the court the whole game. 

“You have the plyo stuff, from jumping and changing direction quickly. 

“And you have a strength component, from leaning on someone, setting picks and holding people off."

We couldn’t agree more with Katie Smith, former WNBA player and coach of the Minnesota Lynx.

From moving up and down the court to throwing the ball to a teammate, it’s as fast paced as any sport we’ve tried. 


A great community 

We also felt extremely welcomed. Both Stephen Graham and Manchester Walking Basketball showed that basketball has an extremely open and friendly community.

It really doesn't matter if you’ve been playing for ten years or you're a complete beginner, everyone is treated the same and everyone is accommodated for.

And with schemes in the UK such as TagRev (https://tagrev.co.uk/) and Free City Kids (https://www.instagram.com/free_city_kids/), who are using basketball to get young people into fitness, it's great to see the sport attracting new people all the time.

But it's important to mention one final thing, it was fun! 

It’s hard to explain the feeling of successfully shooting the ball into the hoop, but If you’ve ever thrown a crumpled piece of paper into the bin from a distance, then you’ll know what we mean.

Add to that the triumphs of a successful pass, block or assist and you’ve got a highly rewarding game in front of you.


We’ve been completely absorbed with the sport, not only playing, but also watching and keeping up to date with the latest news in the UK and US. So if you want to see our efforts trying out basketball in full, check out the video below. 

Whether you used to play but stopped, have played a few times in school or are completely new to the sport, we’d recommend trying a session nearby to see if you enjoy it as much as we did.

There are plenty of sessions in the UK, but to find one close to you make sure to check out the Orfi Active app. 

We promise you won’t regret it. 



Orfi Score 

Accessibility (Facilities, equipment, clothing needed) - 3/5 

Ease to learn (How easy was it to pick up the basic skills) - 4/5

Physical demand (how easy was it to keep up with the pace) - 4/5

Cost (How cheap was the session) - 4/5 

Global presence (How widely represented is the sport) - 5/5


Posted on

February 12, 2020

by

Jack Gerrard