Memory management refers to the allocation, utilization, and deallocation of memory in a program. In C++, memory management is an essential concept that involves understanding pointers and dynamic memory allocation.

Pointers are variables that store memory addresses. They allow us to access and manipulate data indirectly by referring to the address where the data is stored. In basketball terms, we can think of pointers as the players on the court. They don't hold the ball directly but can control it by pointing their fingers.

Dynamic memory allocation allows programs to allocate memory at runtime rather than during compile-time. This is useful when we need to allocate memory for data structures whose size is determined at runtime, such as arrays or linked lists. It's like building a basketball court when a game is about to start, dynamically adjusting the number of seats available based on the number of spectators expected.

To allocate memory dynamically in C++, we use the new keyword, and to deallocate memory, we use the delete keyword. Here's an example:

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3
4int main() {
5  int* ptr = new int; // allocate memory dynamically
6  *ptr = 5; // store a value in the allocated memory
7
8  cout << *ptr; // print the value
9
10  delete ptr; // deallocate memory
11  return 0;
12}

In this example, we dynamically allocate memory for an integer using the new keyword. We then assign a value of 5 to the allocated memory using the pointer dereference operator *. Finally, we print the value and deallocate the memory using the delete keyword to avoid memory leaks.

Understanding memory management is crucial in C++ programming as it allows us to efficiently utilize memory resources, prevent memory leaks, and handle complex data structures.