What are the best settings to shoot an indoor basketball game with a Nikon D40?

I might be covering a women's basketball game this weekend for our school newspaper. What are the best settings to get the best out of my photos for this situation?

You are going to need a shutter speed of 1/500 or faster. School gyms are not lit as good as they could be so you will have use a high ISO. A fast lens would be nice. Can you borrow or rent a fixed aperture lens? I borrowed a 50mm f1.8 from my mom. She got it with a film camera she bought around 1990 and it worked well on my D3.

1/500 sec or faster for shutter speed
High ISO's
fast lens (at least f/2.8) I will suggest the 70-200mm f/2.8

The above answers are very good.

I would only add that white balance can be a problem in some gyms, due to a mixture of lighting. On another note, be sure that the coaches will not object to the use of flash during the game.

If the team practices in the same facility that the game will be played in, taking some shots during practice might help you get ready for the game.

Just used a Nikon F1.8 prime lense set at 1/2000 shutter speed with iso at 800 to 1000 ish. Worked well would like it to be faster but the faster I make it the grainier my pics were turning out. Shot with Shutter speed priority.