BASKETBALL

I T ' S H I S T O RY A N D I T S E F F E C T S A R O U N D T H E W O R L D
Who Invented Basketball
• James Naismith was a Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian
chaplain, and sports coach, best known as the inventor of the game of basketball. After
moving to the United States, he wrote the original basketball rule book and founded the
University of Kansas basketball program
What is BASKETBAL
L
• Basketball, a game played
between two teams of five
players each on a rectangular
court, usually indoors. Each
team tries to score by
tossing the ball through the
opponent’s goal, an elevated
horizontal hoop and net
called a basket.
 • Over the years, basketball has evolved in many ways. Here are some of
the key developments:

• Early rules: The first game of basketball was played with nine players on
each team, and the ball could not be dribbled. Over time, the rules evolved
to allow five players per team and dribbling the ball.

• Professional leagues: Professional basketball leagues started to form in the

1920s and 1930s, with the National Basketball League (NBL) and the
Basketball Association of America (BAA) being the most prominent. In

How has
1949, the NBL and BAA merged to form the National Basketball
Association (NBA), which is still the most popular professional basketball
league in the world today.

Basketball
• The shot clock: In 1954, the NBA introduced the shot clock, which
requires teams to attempt a shot within a certain amount of time (usually
24 seconds). This helped to speed up the game and make it more exciting
for spectators.

Changed • The three-point line: In 1961, the American Basketball League introduced
the three-point line, which allowed players to shoot from beyond the arc
and earn an extra point for a successful shot. The NBA adopted the three-

Over the
point line in 1979, and it has become a critical part of the game today.

• Global popularity: Basketball has become a global sport, with millions of

people playing and watching it around the world. The Olympics have

Years
played a significant role in promoting basketball's popularity, with the
sport being included in the Summer Games since 1936.

• Today, basketball is a fast-paced, high-scoring game that requires a

combination of physical skills, strategic thinking, and teamwork. It
continues to evolve, with new rules, strategies, and technologies emerging
to help players and teams perform at their best.

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.

• 1. CREDITS TO NAISMITH

• Basketball enthusiasts must be happy to be introduced to a name they will never forget: James
Naismith – the man who had been asked to invent an indoor winter activity by his boss at a YMCA
in Springfield and Basketball was the fruit.

• 2. THE FIRST BASKETBALL WAS NOT ACTUALLY “BASKETBALL”.

• As bizarre as it sounds: it was a soccer ball.

• 3. DRIBBLING? NOT ALLOWED.

• Players never could advance the ball. Instead, each player had to throw it from wherever he caught
it. The first team credited with advancing the ball by dribbling it played at Yale in 1897 and the
official allowance for the dribble, just one per possession at first, were adopted four years later.

• 4. THE MORE THE BETTER.

• The number of players per side was never specified. Naismith invented an indoor winter activity
and wanted a game flexible enough to include whoever wanted to play. For a while, the total
number of players was a default 18, nine per side, the same number that showed up for the very
first game.

• 5. NO INJURY: NO FOUL.

• Shouldering, holding, pushing, tripping, or otherwise striking an opponent was never allowed.
However, such offenses were never considered fouls until 1910, with the advent of a rule
disqualifying a player for committing four of them. That total was raised to five in 1946, in the
inaugural rules of the Basketball Association of America (the original name of the National
Basketball Association), and to six the next year.

Fun Facts
This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.
 How Has Basketball Impact
The Sporting Industry

The sport of basketball traces its history The sport has grown since those early days
back to 1891 when James Naismith, a when it was predominantly associated with
physical education professor and instructor colleges and high schools. When the
trying to keep his gym class active wanted National Basketball Association (NBA)
a indoor game to keep his students was founded, there were 17 teams, but by
occupied and maintain the proper levels of 2018 that more than doubled to 38: there
fitness even during winters. Eventually, he was a professional women's league, many
wrote a few basic rules and nailed a peach universities had both women's and men's
basket onto a 10-foot elevated track and teams, and it had become a big
basketball was born. international sport