For as exciting as basketball is, and for as much gambling action as it induces, a lot of us forget just how athletic these players are. The rims are 10' off the ground, and often is the case where you see a young man fly chest-high to the rim and throw down a vicious dunk like a superhero. But aside from the aerial acrobatics, there's also the fact that basketball courts are pretty big spaces. The dimensions of the courts are different depending on where you play, and the NBA, collegiate and international courts are all slightly different. But one thing they all have in common: They're large and require a lot of athleticism to constantly run up and down their expanse. Bettors will do well to keep the following information in mind when evaluating informed wagers that take into consideration the current condition of any key players when enjoying legal NBA betting or when participating in legal NCAAB betting.

There are certain colloquial facts that many people know about a basketball court. For instance, most people can tell you that the rim is 10-feet off the ground (10'3", to be exact). A lot of people also know that the basket is exactly four-feet in radius (48"), roughly the size of two basketballs. The entire court size, however, is something not a lot of people know about.

From rim to rim, going lengthwise, the length of a basketball court in the NBA is 94'. From bench to bench, going sideways across the court, it is 50' wide. The free-throw line, also known as the foul line, is exactly 15' away from the basket. The three-point line actually arks out at a different length depending on your position on the court. Closest to the baseline, the line is only 22' away from the basket, and at its peak, above the free-throw line, it is 23'9". That's nearly a two-foot difference in length, which would explain why so many players love taking those corner threes.

The box, known as the paint, which is the section of the court guarded and patrolled by centers, is around 16' wide, and extends from under the basket (the baseline) to the free-throw line. Center court, where the opening tip happens, is a 6' radius. Overall, courts are very large and require supreme athleticism to constantly run back and forth.

On its face, the NCAA men's court looks almost identical to the NBA regulation court. In fact, going by length and by width, and even the free-throw and baseline paint areas, the courts are identical and have the exact same dimensions. There is one area where the collegiate court differs, and that's with the three-point line. Rather than being 22' to 23'9", the collegiate line is a solid 20'9" all the way around. This also leaves more room in the space between the three-point line and the out of bounds marker, which explain why college has fewer turnovers on sideline passes.

For the international court, the dimensions are measured in meters rather than feet and inches. For instance, the length of the court is 28m total, and 15m wide. The three-point line is nearly identical to the regulation NBA court, only instead of measuring in feet, the measurement here is 6.75m. The free-throw line is roughly 4.5m from the baseline to the foul line.

While the dimensions may be slightly different, the games are remarkably similar. So much so, in fact, that the NBA has been adopting a more European style of play for the past decade or so. This point was driven home in a big way last season, as Tim Duncan and the Spurs mowed over the Miami Heat with a Euro-style ball movement offense that left the Heat puzzled and winded.

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