friction

In a fast paced game like basketball, the ability to quickly cut and move from place to place on the court is crucial. The responsibility of this is obviously placed on the athlete to be coordinated and fast, but there is also responsibility on the athlete's shoe. The shoe must have a large coefficient of kinetic friction between it and the floor. There are sticky mats used for players to clean off all the dust and dirt from the court floor in order to increase this coefficient of friction. Most gym floors are also waxed to increase friction.

Friction