Do you have to be tall to play basketball? Questions for the Washington Mystics

But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids

Vermont Public

Nature, Language, Kids & Family, Science

4.4 • 4.9K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2022

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Washington Mystics of the WNBA join us in this episode to answer all of your questions about the sport of basketball and what it’s like to be a professional athlete. How many basketballs does the team have? Why do balls spin when you bounce them? Who invented basketball? Why are basketballs orange with black lines? Why do men and women play on separate teams? How do injuries impact professional careers? And do you have to be tall to play hoops?

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Basketball Games for Kids

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Transcript

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0:00.0	But why? A podcast for curious kids is known for serious answers to silly questions sent
0:07.0	in by kids just like you. But did you know that but why is now a book series?
0:12.9	Our first book, Our Lama's Ticklish, answers questions from real kids about farm animals.
0:18.8	This colorfully illustrated book is perfect for kids ages 8 to 10. And our second book,
0:24.4	To Fish Breathe Underwater, explores the underwater world of the ocean. Learn more at but why kids.org slash books.
0:55.4	This is But Why, a podcast for curious kids from Vermont Public Radio. I'm Jane Lindholm,
1:01.2	and that is not our theme music. That's music and sound from a special event I went to a few weeks ago
1:07.6	to report this episode. That's the guy who does the arena announcements for one of the very top sports
1:16.1	teams in the country. Maybe you could make out what he was saying and you've already guessed what
1:20.2	team it is. The Washington Mystics, a basketball team that plays in a league called the WNBA.
1:26.6	Only the very best basketball players in the whole country and sometimes the world play in this league.
1:41.4	And today those sports superstars are going to answer the questions you've sent us about basketball
1:46.6	and what it's like to be a professional athlete. Have you ever been to a basketball game?
1:52.2	The game I got to watch was between the Washington Mystics who won the whole championship in 2019
1:57.8	and the Chicago Sky who won the championship last year. Because we'd been invited by the Mystics
2:03.9	and I was in their home arena with their hometown crowd, I was rooting for Washington.
2:08.6	But Chicago dominated the game. Not only were more of their shots going in but they did a really
2:17.3	good job on defense shutting down the Mystics and winning the game decisively.
2:28.2	Watching a big professional game like that is exciting both on and off the court.
2:32.7	Sometimes it's even hard to concentrate on the game because all the fans around you are cheering.
2:39.4	When there's a break between periods there was a kids dance troop that came out and performed for
2:43.7	the crowd. At one point there were people hurling t-shirts up into the crowd. Music played almost
	...

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