April 29, 2024
Features

The true story behind North Korea’s bizarre basketball rules

The DPRK briefly experimented with 8-point shots, dunk penalties and more, and there was a kind of method to the madness

The different rules between college basketball and the NBA were on display throughout this year’s March Madness tournament, with the amateur athletes playing two 20-minute halves rather than four quarters, using a longer shot clock and shooting from a shorter three-point line.

But all of these changes are relatively minor compared to the outlandish rules that North Korea once introduced for its basketball teams — which featured everything from eight-point shots to penalties for missing dunks.

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