NBA Finals Activities and Basketball Articles for Students

The NBA Finals are coming up and if you have sports fans in your class, they might already be talking about it. You can use their interest to drive real learning in the last few months of school.

These basketball articles for students help you teach ELA, STEM, and social studies with content they care about.

Jump to:

• Basketball articles for students in ELA lessons
• Basketball articles for students in STEM lessons
• Basketball articles for students in social studies

[Basketball articles for students in ELA lessons](id-ela)

Key takeaways:

• Use high-interest basketball articles for stronger engagement during reading and discussion.
• Build analysis and writing skills with texts students actually want to read.
• Support structured discussions and debates using real-world sports topics.
• Connect literacy skills to student interests without changing your core lesson goals.

If your students are already talking about the NBA Finals, you can slide it into your ELA lessons. Use their interest to drive better reading, discussion, and writing while meeting your standards. 

These basketball articles for students help you build core skills while keeping students invested in the topic.

How can students debate whether competition in basketball is healthy or harmful?

Having a basketball debate in class is an easy way to get real engagement while hitting argument writing and speaking standards. Students already have opinions about sports. The debate structure gives them a reason to back those opinions with evidence instead of just reacting.

Have students read, take a stance, support it, and respond to others. To build strong arguments, use articles on topics like:

• The reaction to LeBron James breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career scoring record to discuss how competition shapes legacy and public perception.
• How youth basketball is becoming an ultra-competitive sport through travel teams and early specialization, and what that means for student athletes.
• An opinion piece on how the pressure to become a winner to explore how competition can lead to ethical concerns like cheating.

Can paired texts help students analyze the skills basketball players need?

Paired texts are an easy way to teach students how character traits in fiction connect to real-world skills and situations. In an activity like this, student’s won’t just read about basketball. They’ll also analyze how qualities like patience and focus show up in different types of texts.

To guide that analysis, use the following lesson sequence:

• First, have students read the fictional short story called “Abby Takes Her Shot” by Susan M. Dyckman to explore how character traits impact performance.
• Next, assign a nonfiction article that gives tips on how to be patient so students can connect real-world skills to the story.
• Finally, have students complete a paired text analysis worksheet to answer the question, “How are the text structure and author’s purpose connected in each text?”

What novels help students explore basketball and identity?

Use novels when you want students to stay with a theme longer and build stronger connections. You can either work on them together as a class, or provide independent reading recommendations for students who want to explore more on their own.

These stories let you go deeper with character, conflict, and identity while still tying back to basketball. To support that work, use novels like:

• “The Crossover” by Kwame Alexander to explore family, pressure, and personal identity through basketball.
• “Taking Sides” by Gary Soto to examine conflict, loyalty and cultural identity in a team setting.
• “Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie to analyze identity, belonging, and navigating different communities.

[Basketball articles for students in STEM lessons](id-sci)

Key takeaways:

• Use basketball data and scenarios to make abstract math and science concepts easier to understand.
• Connect STEM standards to real gameplay so students see how concepts apply in real life.
• Build analysis skills with real data.
• Increase engagement with sports-based learning that still aligns with your curriculum.

Teaching about basketball gameplay can actually give you a natural way to teach STEM. The game involves data, motion, and decision-making. With these basketball articles for students, you can make those connections visible and turn what they’re watching into something they can analyze and explain.

How does science explain what happens during a basketball game?

If students have a reason to care about concepts like force, motion, and data, they’ll be more invested in the lesson. Instead of giving abstract examples, they’re looking at something they’ve actually seen before, such as shots, practice routines, and performance.

To make those connections clear, use resources on topics like:

• Neuroscience research on practice routines to see how changing practice patterns can improve foul shooting.
• Player statistics for Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James to analyze performance using real data.
• How psychological traits like competitiveness, work ethic, and attitude help people perform better at sports.

Can students analyze real NBA data to understand performance?

Sports stats can tell us a lot about athletes’ performance, the records they’ve achieved, and how they stack up against one another. When students work with actual stats, they can spot patterns, compare players, and justify claims with evidence instead of opinions.

To build these types of skills, use resources like:

• A dataset that looks at NBA players’ height, weight, jump, and scoring success to help students identify patterns in relationships.
• An article on how NBA teams use technology like the SportVU camera system to capture more in-game data and adjust strategy.
• An article on how a neuroscience professor helped the Swarthmore College basketball team improve their foul shot percentage to connect data analysis with real performance outcomes.

How can Generation Genius science and math videos support NBA Finals STEM learning?

Videos can help students visualize complex concepts related to the math and science of basketball. Using Newsela STEM with Generation Genius science videos lets you reinforce science and math standards while making topics easier to understand. 

Each video lesson also includes a 5E lesson plan, key vocabulary, and discussion questions, which help reduce prep time when planning basketball lessons. Try videos like these to reinforce physics, probability, and other STEM skills:

K-2 Science

• Introduction to Sound
• The Five Senses
• Simple Machines
• Material Properties and Purposes
• Pushes and Pulls
• Gravity Pulls Things Down

K-2 Math

• Even & Odd Numbers
• Money: Combinations of Bills & Coins
• Intro to Data: Pictographs & Bar Graphs
• Skip Counting (2s, 5s, 10s & 100s)
• Intro to Counting in Groups (Arrays)
• Tell Time (Nearest Half Hour)
• Measure & Add Length (Intro to the Ruler)
• Intro to Data: Line Plots

3-5 Science

• Balanced & Unbalanced Forces
• Patterns of Motion & Friction
• Energy Transfer
• Brain Processing of Senses
• Collisions
• Wave Properties

3-5 Math

• Intro to Angles
• Intro to Multiplication
• Convert Units of Measurement
• Introduction to Order of Operations
• Division Using an Area Model
• Intro to Finding Area
• Introduction to Perimeter
• Scaled Picture Graphs & Bar Graphs
• Generate Number Patterns (Sequences That Follow a Given Rule)
• Multiplying Up To 4 Digits (Area Model)
• Solve 2-Step Problems (All 4 Operations)
• Tell Time (Nearest Minute)
• Line Plots with Fractional Measurements
• Measure Elapsed Time
• Multiplication Comparisons

6-8 Science

• Newton’s Laws of Motion
• Potential vs. Kinetic Energy
• Gravitational Forces Between Objects
• Intro to Thermal Energy
• Heat: Transfer of Thermal Energy
• Wave Reflection, Absorption & Transmittance

6-8 Math

• Probability: Single Events
• Probability: Compound Events
• Unit Rates
• Histograms & Box Plots
• Percents
• Percent Change
• Mean, Median & Mode
• Proportional Relationships
• Intro to Ratios
• Solve Problems with Ratios and Proportions
• Use All 4 Quadrants of the Coordinate Plane
• Scatter Plots (Displaying Bivariate Data)
• Graphing Linea Equations: Slope & y-intercept (y = mx + b)
• Statistics: Random Samples & Comparing Data Sets

[Basketball articles for students in social studies](id-ss)

Key takeaways:

• Build background knowledge about basketball’s history to connect sports to broader historical context.
• Use player stories to explore real-world impact beyond the game.
• Create discussion opportunities around culture and influence using familiar topics.
• Connect past and present through sports to make social studies more relevant.

Basketball is a part of history, culture, and community. Those three areas help you bring social studies concepts into a topic that students already know and care about. These basketball articles for students help you connect history and current events without losing engagement.

How can students learn about the history of basketball?

Start with the basics of how to play the sport and then transition into why the game grew the way it did. Students should understand how basketball started, but more importantly, how it spread and changed over time. 

To build that understanding, use articles that cover:

• How setting baskets at 10 feet created a design problem that lasted for decades and influenced how the game evolved.
• What mathematical principles make up the perfect free throw to connect historical gameplay with scientific principles.
• Which level is more interesting to watch and play: College basketball vs. professional basketball to discuss how different levels of play shape the sport’s popularity and culture.

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Read more: These March Madness Classroom Ideas Are a Slam Dunk!

Who are influential basketball players students will want to learn about?

Focus on players whose impact goes beyond the court. This gives you a way to connect sports to real-world issues like education, community, and influence. Students will stay interested when they recognize the names, but the learning goes deeper than stats and highlights.

To explore those connections, use articles on topics like:

• How Lebron James opened the I Promise School in Ohio to provide educational opportunities, wraparound services, and stress relief for at-risk students.
• Why Kobe Bryant’s death in 2020 deeply affected many fans and supporters—even people who didn’t know him personally.
• How Steph Curry vowed to offer his Under Armour Curry 5 basketball shoes in girls’ sizes after a young fan asked him to do so.

Hit a three-pointer with Newsela’s library of content and activities

Make the crowd (your students) go wild by sharing this and other great high-interest content, engaging activities, and relevant assessments during every lesson, not just during the NBA Finals.

With Newsela ELA, Newsela Social Studies, and Newsela STEM, you can quickly find basketball articles for students that connect directly to your standards and keep students engaged. 

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