Where does this come from, and can I check it?

The rule arrived in 1944 after George Mikan began swatting shots away. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a sports fact?

Yes. It sits on the Sports shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Goaltending was banned because of one tall player

The rule arrived in 1944 after George Mikan began swatting shots away Mikan stood about 2.08 metres and waited near the basket to knock down shots on their way to the hoop. The NCAA and then the NBA made it illegal for a defender to touch a ball on its downward flight. A similar offensive rule followed, and the wider lane was introduced partly to move him further out. It sits in Mondo's sports collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Sports trivia

More facts like this

The NBA added the three-point line in 1979It arrived after the rival ABA had shown that long shots drew crowds Basketball teams must shoot within 24 secondsThe shot clock was introduced by the NBA in 1954 to stop teams stalling The forward pass was legalised in 1906It was brought in to open up a game that had become brutal and static Basketball began with two peach basketsJames Naismith invented the game in Massachusetts in 1891 A basketball court is 28 by 15 metresThat is the international size, while the NBA uses a slightly longer floor Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in one gameHe reached the mark for Philadelphia against New York in March 1962

Tags: basketball, rules, history

Goaltending was banned because of one tall player: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: The rule arrived in 1944 after George Mikan began swatting shots away. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a sports fact?: Yes. It sits on the Sports shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.