Basketball: The game 450 million people love to play

The International Basketball Federation, Fiba, with 212 countries affiliated to it, claims it is second only to volleyball (218) and just ahead of track and field (210) and soccer (204) in terms of sports affiliated to the Olympic movement.

Fiba was founded in Geneva in 1932 by eight nations - Argentina, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Latvia, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Greece.

The game made its first appearance at the Berlin Olympics in 1936.

Now it boasts regional competitions by which qualifying for the world championships is decided, featuring 53 African nations, 44 each from Asia and the Americas, 50 from Europe and 21 from Oceania.

The sport claims 450 million players globally, with a huge increase in numbers since 1992, the result of the Michael Jordan influence.

Next week's world championships in Indianapolis are the first to be held in the United States.

Previous winners are Argentina (1950), United States (1954, 1986, 1994), Brazil (1959, 1963), the Soviet Union (1967, 1974, 1982) and Yugoslavia (1970, 1978, 1990 and 1998).

The only other countries among the medals have been China, with two bronze in the 50s, the Philippines, one bronze, and Croatia, with bronze in 94.

Russia have won two silver, in 94 and 98, since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

The tournament format is different from the Olympics. The 16 teams are in four groups, with a round-robin held within each pool.

The top three teams progress to round two and are seeded again by results into two pools of six, which then play another round-robin.

The top four teams from each of those pools play quarter-final knockout games, with the winners advancing to the semis and then the final. Sixty-two games are played in 28 sessions over 11 days.

The Conseco Fieldhouse where the big games will be played was built in 1999. It holds 18,500 spectators and is home to the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers' most famous basketballing son is Larry Bird, who won an Olympic gold medal with Magic Johnson's original Dream Team at Barcelona before bombing as the Pacers coach.

Before 1989, NBA pros were barred from the United States team. That's one reason the Americans have not dominated the tournament.

Also, the US squads selected since have not been up to the Dream Team standard and this year's is no exception, with several top-liners, including Shaquille O'Neal, crying off and others such as the Jets' inspirational leader Jason Kidd pulling out to have off-season surgery.

The United States squad is Reggie Miller and Jermaine O'Neal (Indiana Pacers), Antonio Davis (Toronto Raptors), Elton Brand and Andre Miller (LA Clippers), Baron Davis (New Orleans Hornets), Raef Lafrentz and Michael Finley (Dallas Mavericks), Shawn Marion (Phoenix Suns), Ben Wallace (Detroit Pistons), Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics) and Duke University star Jai Williams.

There are 25 NBA players among the other 15 teams.