Why do basketball teams warmup and start on the opposite sides of the bench?

Question

I have played basketball for a decent number of years now, and watched basketball for longer than that time. What I've noticed is that Basketball teams always warm up opposite of their bench, and always are on offense opposite of their bench in the first half. What is the reason behind this?

Answer 1

The NCAA, FIBA, and NFHS have this built into their rules.

NCAA:

S1, A2: ... Each team shall warm up and shoot during the first half at the basket farthest from its bench.

and

S21, A4: Teams shall warm up at the end of the playing court farthest from their own bench for the first half.

FIBA:

R4, A9.5: Before the first and third quarter, teams are entitled to warm-up in the half of the playing court in which their opponents' basket is located.

NFHS:

R2, S5, A4: Each team’s basket for practice before the game and for the first half shall be the one farther from its team bench