Is Basketball a Winter Sport? Tips & Guide

When one thinks of winter activities, he or she may think of ice sports and extreme winter sports such as the kind that are seen during the Winter Olympics. However, some less extreme cold weather sporting events are played in the winter, like basketball.

Is Basketball a Winter Sport: Mainly, basketball is played around the year. However, in the USA and some other countries, most leagues including NBA usually start in December (end of the fall season) and end in April-May (summer start). Thus, most basketball leagues are played in winter. That’s why it may be considered a winter sport. However, this thought is not the same across all people.

Let’s see whether basketball qualifies as a winter sport or not. If yes, then which basketball leagues are played in winter?

Don’t forget to also check our guide to the Best Pool basketball hoops

How Basketball is considered a Winter Sport?

Basketball is one of the most played and watched winter sports even though it’s on a hardwood or cement floor rather than an icy surface.

Unlike other games, such as baseball and soccer, basketball follows its season throughout the winter. Because this is a gap between the whole year when other sports like soccer are not being played. That’s why so many basketball enthusiasts continue to follow the sport during this time of year.

Basketball was invented during winter to be a mode of entertainment during times when other popular sports had taken time off. Today, basketball typically starts in the fall and continues into the spring and finalizes in the summer seasons.

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Which Basketball Leagues are Played in Winter?

Let’s see whether the main basketball leagues are played in winter or summer? These leagues
are
● High School Basketball Leagues
● College Basketball Leagues
● WNBA Tournament
● NBA Tournament

High school basketball leagues

High school basketball starts in the fall with tryouts and exhibition games followed by league play. While some leagues begin league play after Christmas which is in the winter season. Though they are starting basketball in the fall with practice etc.

Some leagues do not begin until after the Thanksgiving holidays are over because out of respect for student-athletes who may be participating in fall sports like volleyball and football, these leagues usually choose to schedule their games accordingly, usually sometime in early December. This varies from state to state of course. In some states, it may start earlier than in others.

May be you are also interested to read about the best outdoor basketballs

College-Level Basketball

College basketball is a sport that takes place solely during the winter months. Thus, college basketball can be considered a winter sport. College-level basketball is under NCAA and is classified into two main tournament types.
● NCAA men’s basketball
● NCAA women’s basketball
Both tournaments start and finalize together. The whole season is divided into 4 sections
namely
● Non-conference play
● Conference play
● Conference tournaments
● Postseason tournaments
College Basketball leagues are typically played between November to April every year. That’s why we can consider it also a winter sport. Around 350 teams play in division 1 in this event. Each team plays about 25 to 35 matches.

WNBA Tournament

The WNBA season begins in April and runs to September, making it a summer sport. However, like many other sports leagues that struggle with low attendance and viewership during the summer months, there has been some effort to move the WNBA schedule to more popular times of the year.

There is a divide among those who would like to keep women’s basketball as a summer sport and those who feel it should move to the winter and fall seasons as they would be able to market themselves more successfully in these more competitive times of the year.

The league consists of 12 teams that compete for the title, with 34 games played in the season. Preseason commences in late April and early May, which is followed shortly by the beginning of the season, ending in early September.

NBA Tournament

The league begins in fall and runs the whole way to the beginning of summer. There is no winter break, which is the reason it’s viewed as a winter sport. The league comprises 30 teams, each one to play a sum of 82 games.

The NBA goes through two seasons, in particular:

The preseason: It begins towards the finish of September and runs until October eighteenth. This allows competitors a month to get ready for the beginning of the time. The groups included playing at least 2 games and a limit of 4, with one game played at home and one out and about. In-season – On October 22nd, the season formally begins, where 30 groups contend, playing 82 games in the season. A big part of the games is played at home, with the other half played out and about. The season runs until April when the end of the season games starts.

Why is Basketball not included in the Winter Olympics?

Although basketball is a winter sport, it’s not included in the Winter Olympics. The reason behind this exclusion is that it’s mainly played on concrete courts rather than ice rinks like several other sports played during the Winter Olympics.

Players and fans of the sport have expressed a desire to get it added to the Winter Olympics because it would benefit people attending. People attend the winter games for a variety of reasons and some need something familiar, such as basketball, to bridge that gap between this winter game they’re seeing on the screen and their more familiar viewing experience in their own home. The idea is that if basketball wasn’t bound by these constraints there would be much more interest from countries that might choose not to participate otherwise.

Despite this, there are ongoing efforts to bring it into the Winter Olympics. Advocates argue that it would help with the popularity of the winter games, as basketball has a large following and is a high-profile sport. The main challenge is that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) defines a Winter Sport as something played on an icy or snowy surface. Since basketball is played on a warm and dry surface, they do not recognize it as a Winter Sport.

Conclusion: Is Basketball a Winter Sport?

Basketball is a year-round sport but it’s considered to be a winter sport. The most popular tournaments include NBA, College basketball, and high school basketball which are hosted in the winter period. The WNBA is the only league to be played outside of the wintertime period during the summer season.

The International Olympic Committee has not recognized Basketball as a Winter sport simply because it does not take place on an ice rink surface despite requests for it to be included in the Winter Olympics tournament.

Thus, we hope that now you’ve got your answer. Ask any questions if left in the comment box. We’ll surely try to solve your problem and make you happier.