Basketball
Basketball
Basketball
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Early history
Invention of the game
A game similar to basketball is mentioned in a 1591 book published in Frankfurt
am Main that reports on the lifestyles and customs of coastal North American
residents, Wahrhafftige Abconterfaytung der Wilden.[2] Among other things, a game
of skill is described in which balls must be thrown against a target woven from
twigs, mounted high on a pole in the middle of a large playing field. There's a small
reward for the player if the target is being hit.[3]
The game of basketball as it is known today was created by Dr. James Naismith in
December 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts, to condition young athletes during
cold months. Naismith was a physical education instructor at YMCA International
Training School (now known as Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Upon the request of his boss, Naismith was tasked to create an indoor sports
game to help athletes keep in shape in cold weather.[1] It consisted of peach
baskets and a soccer style ball. He published 13 rules for the new game. He
divided his class of eighteen into two teams of nine players each and set about to
teach them the basics of his new game. The objective of the game was to throw
the basketball into the fruit baskets nailed to the lower railing of the gym balcony.
Every time a point was scored, the game was halted so the janitor could bring out a
ladder and retrieve the ball. After a while, the bottoms of the fruit baskets were
removed.
1. The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.
2. The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands.
3. A player cannot run with the ball, the player must throw it from the spot on
which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man who catches the ball
when running at good speed.
4. The ball must be held in or between the hands, the arms or body must not
be used for holding it.
5. No shouldering, holding, pushing, tripping or striking in any way the person
of an opponent shall be allowed. The first infringement of this rule by any
person shall count as a foul, the second shall disqualify him until the next
goal is made, or if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the
whole of the game, no substitute.
6. A foul is striking the ball with the fist, violation of rules 3 and 4, and such as
described in rule 5.
7. If either side makes three consecutive fouls it shall count a goal for
opponents.
8. A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from grounds into the
basket and stays there. If the ball rests on the edge and the opponent
moves the basket it shall count as a goal.
9. When the ball goes out of bounds it shall be thrown into the field and played
by the person first touching it. In case of a dispute, the umpire shall throw it
straight into the field. The "thrower-in" is allowed five seconds. If he holds it
longer it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game,
the umpire shall call a foul on them.
10. The umpire shall be the judge of the men and shall note the fouls, and
notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made.
11. The referee shall be the judge of the ball and shall decide when the ball is
in play, in-bounds, and to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He
shall decide when a goal has been made and keep account of the goals
with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee.
12. The time shall be fifteen-minute halves, with five-minute rests between.
13. The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner. In
the case of a draw, the game may, by agreement of the captains, be
continued until another goal is made.[5]
The first basketball game
Women in basketball
Shortly after, Senda Berenson, instructor of physical culture at the nearby Smith
College, went to Naismith to learn more about the game.[13] Fascinated by the new
sport and the values it could teach, she started to organize games with her pupils,
following adjusted rules.[14] The first official women's interinstitutional game was
played barely 11 months later, between the University of California and the Miss
Head's School.[15] In 1899, a committee was established at the Conference of
Physical Training in Springfield to draw up general rules for women's basketball.
Thus, the sport quickly spread throughout America's schools, colleges and
universities with uniform rules for both sexes.[16]
The First World War broke out in 1914, and the U.S. Army started fighting in
Europe in 1917. During World War I, the American Expeditionary Force took
basketball wherever it went. Together with the troops, there were hundreds of
physical education teachers who knew basketball. Naismith also spent two years
with YMCA in France in that period.[19]
The Original Celtics, for instance, are considered the "fathers of basketball"[21] and
were presented as "World’s Basketball Champions";[21] the players had to sign a
contract to play with them, and Jim Furey organized matches as a circus, moving
daily from town to town. The Celtics became the strongest team, and their
successes lasted from 1922 until 1928, when the team disbanded due to
ownership problems. The Original Celtics are sometimes incorrectly thought of as
forebears of the current Boston Celtics of the NBA; in reality, they share only a
name, as today's Celtics were not founded until 1946, nearly two decades after the
demise of the Original Celtics. In 1922, the first all–African American professional
team was founded: the Rens (also known as New York Renaissance or Harlem
Renaissance).[22] The Rens were the Original Celtics’ usual opponent, and for their
matches a ticket cost $1.[23] They took part in some official championships and won
the first World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1939. The team disbanded in
1949.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Eastern Basket Ball League (founded in 1909),
[24]
Metropolitan Basketball League (founded in 1921)[25] and American Basketball
League (founded in 1925)[26] were the most important leagues.
The first recorded game between two college teams occurred on February 9, 1895,
when Hamline University faced Minnesota A&M (which later became a part of
the University of Minnesota).[27][28] Minnesota A&M won the game, which was played
under rules allowing nine players per side, 9–3.[28] The first intercollegiate match
using the modern rule of five players per side is often credited as a game between
the University of Chicago and the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, Iowa, on January
18, 1896.[27][29] The Chicago team, which was organized by Amos Alonzo Stagg, who
had learned the game from James Naismith at Springfield YMCA, won the game
15–12.[28][29] (Some sources state the first "true" five-on-five intercollegiate match
was a game in 1897 between Yale and Penn, because the Iowa team, that played
Chicago in 1896, was composed of University of Iowa students, but did not
officially represent the University of Iowa – rather being organized through a
YMCA.)[28] By 1900 the game of basketball had spread to colleges across the
country .
By 1897 the U.S. Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) had taken over oversight of
basketball activity from YMCA.[28] In April 1905, representatives of fifteen colleges
separately took over control of the college game, creating the collegiate "Basket
Ball Rule Committee".[28] The committee was in turn absorbed into the predecessor
of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 1909.[28] The extremely
popular NCAA men's basketball tournament was started in 1939.
After its arrival in Europe, basketball developed very quickly. In 1909 the first
international match was held in Saint Petersburg: Mayak Saint Petersburg beat a
YMCA American team.[30] The first great European event was held in 1919
in Joinville-le-Pont, near Paris, during the Inter-Allied Games. United States, led by
future Hall of Fame player Max Friedman, won against Italy and France, and then
Italy beat France. Basketball soon became popular among French and Italians.
The Italian team had a white shirt with the House of Savoy shield and the players
were: Arrigo and Marco Muggiani, Baccarini, Giuseppe Sessa, Palestra, Pecollo
and Bagnoli.[31]
Formation of FIBA
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World basketball was growing, but it was on June 18, 1932, that a real international
organization was formed, to coordinate tournaments and teams: that day, the
following representatives of the 8 national federations: Attilio
Ponisio (Argentina), Simeon Mavroskoufis (Greece), Count Giorgio Asinari di San
Marzano (Italy), Joseph Shadeiko (Latvia), Henry Brandt (Portugal), D.D.
Teica (Romania), Léon Bouffard (Switzerland), and Ladilslav
Kapucian (Czechoslovakia)[32] founded the International Basketball
Federation (Fédération internationale de basketball amateur, FIBA) in Geneva.
[33]
Its work was fundamental for the first inclusion of basketball in the Berlin
Olympic Games in 1936.[34] The first Olympic title was won by the U.S. national
team: Sam Balter, Ralph Bishop, Joe Fortenberry, Tex Gibbons, Francis
Johnson, Carl Knowles, Frank Lubin, Art Mollner, Donald Piper, Jack
Ragland, Willard Schmidt, Carl Shy, Duane Swanson, Bill Wheatley and the
trainer James Needles. Canada was runner-up; the games were played on an
outdoor clay court. The first World Championship was held in Argentina in 1950.[35]
NBA
The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was founded on June 6, 1946,
in New York City.[36] The league adopted the name National Basketball
Association (NBA) in 1949 after merging with the rival National Basketball
League (NBL). As of the early 21st century, the NBA is the most significant
professional basketball league in the world in terms of popularity, salaries, talent,
and level of competition.[37]
The commissioner of the NBA is Adam Silver and his job is to oversee the tasks in
the organization.
Many rule changes have occurred since the inception of professional basketball
that has altered the game to what we now recognize today. These rule changes did
not occur all at once but instead evolved to suit the changing style of play. Starting
with the widening of the free-throw lane in 1951 and a further extension in 1964,
this change was made to reduce the dominant impact of centers who played with
their back facing the basket - otherwise known as Post Position. Then in 1954,
the 24-second shot clock was introduced. This was done to increase the speed of
the game, by forcing the team with the basketball to shoot the ball before the 24-
second timer is up. Finally, the NBA introduced the three-point line, in the 1979–
1980 season. This was done to spread out the players, which were predominantly
playing underneath the basket at this time as well as add a further degree of
difficulty to the game.[38]
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the influx of black athletes increased excitement
and revitalized the NBA. By this time, the league was mainly composed of African
American players, and most of the top stars were black. However, in the late
1970s, the popularity of the NBA was once again threatened by the decline in
attendance and television ratings. In 1979, the NBA's TV audience declined by
18%.
In the 1980s, former university superstar Earvin "Magic" Johnson of Los Angeles
and Larry Bird of Boston once changed the way the game was played. Despite
both being 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) Johnson and Bird could play many roles previously
reserved for shorter players. They have been described as two of the 50 best
players in NBA history.[citation needed] Just when the NBA needed a new force, Johnson
and Bird gave the NBA a new big game to restore its low popularity. During and
after that, some superstars entered the league, including Charles Barkley, Hakeem
Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Michael Jordan.[39]
Modern-day NBA
The NBA has helped popularize basketball in other parts of the world. A large part
of this is due to the transcendent stars that have played the game through the
years. It was because of the play of Michael Jordan that basketball started to reach
international audiences, especially on the 1992 United States men's Olympic
basketball team, known as the Dream Team.[40]
After his final championship and second retirement in 1998, there was a void as in
who would be the face of basketball. Soon after with the help of Shaquille
O'Neal, Kobe Bryant would go on to win three straight championships from 2000 to
2002 with the Los Angeles Lakers, helping make basketball more popular in many
places around the world, most noticeably China. Further championships in 2009
and 2010 helped raise his popularity.[41] In 2015, he announced the following
season would be his last. He would have played in 20 seasons by then.[42]
Another player who revolutionized the game of basketball was LeBron James. He
was taken as the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft by the Cleveland
Cavaliers, and has worked his way to become the face of the NBA and basketball
around the world. He left the Cavaliers in 2010 to join the Miami Heat along with
fellow stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in what become known as "The
Decision",[43] winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013 before
returning to the Cavaliers in 2014 where he won a third championship in 2016. He
joined the Los Angeles Lakers on July 1, 2018.[44]
There have been many international players who helped globalize the game. The
most noticeable would be Yao Ming. He was the first ever Chinese player to be
selected with the number one overall pick in 2002 by the Houston Rockets. His
play and presence in the NBA brought attention to basketball in Asian countries.
The style of basketball has evolved over time as well. Basketball, especially in the
1990s and 2000s, used to give importance to big men. Now, because of teams like
the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors, ball movement and team
play is more common. The pace of play has also increased.[45] In recent years,
players such as Stephen Curry have increased the prevalence of the three-point
shot in the professional game.
The Smart Set Athletic Club of Brooklyn and the St. Christopher Club of New York
City were established as the first fully organized independent all-black basketball
teams in 1906. These teams were amateur.[48]
In 1907 the amateur, all-black Olympian Athletic League was formed in New York
City consisting of the Smart Set Athletic Club, St. Christopher Club, Marathon
Athletic Club, Alpha Physical Culture Club, and Jersey City Colored YMCA. The
first inter-city basketball game between two black teams was played in 1907 when
the Smart Set Athletic Club of Brooklyn traveled to Washington, DC to play the
Crescent Athletic Club.[48]
In 1908 Smart Set Athletic Club of Brooklyn, a member of the Olympian Athletic
League, was named the first Colored Basketball World's Champion.[49]
In 1922 the Commonwealth Five, the first all-black professional team was founded.
The New York Renaissance was founded in 1923.
In 1939 the all-black New York Renaissance beat the all-white Oshkosh All-Stars in
the World Pro Basketball Tournament.
From the late 1920s the African American Harlem Globetrotters were a successful
touring team, winning the WPBT in 1940.
The all-white National Basketball League began to racially integrate in 1942 with
10 black players joining two teams, the Toledo Jim White Chevrolets, and the
Chicago Studebakers. The NBA integrated in 1950–51 seasons, just two years
after its founding, with three black players each achieving a separate milestone in
that process. In the draft held immediately prior to that season, Chuck Cooper
became the first black player drafted by an NBA team. Shortly after the draft, Nat
Clifton became the first black player to sign an NBA contract. Finally, Earl Lloyd
became the first black player to appear in an NBA game as his team started its
season before either Cooper's or Clifton's.[50]
After the integration of the NBA, the Harlem Globetrotters started to focus on
international touring and exhibition performances, including comic routines. These
tours helped to popularize basketball internationally, and gave the Globetrotters the
reputation as basketball's goodwill ambassadors.[51]
Olympic basketball
Basketball was invented by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in
1891. Within a few decades, the new game became popular throughout the United
States as an indoor sport. The popularity spread overseas and the International
Basketball Federation (FIBA) was organized in 1932 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Thanks in part to the effort of Phog Allen[52][53]—a Kansas Jayhawks collegiate coach
—the first Olympic basketball tournament was organized in the 1936 Berlin
Olympics on outdoor tennis courts. Dr. Naismith presented the medals to the top
three teams. According to the Olympic rules of that time, all of the competitors
were amateurs. The tournament was held indoors for the first time in 1948.
The American team proved its dominance, winning the first seven Olympic
tournaments through 1968, without losing a single game. While the Americans
were barred from sending a team that contained players from the
professional National Basketball Association, they instead sent in college players;
teams from some other countries sent in their best players, as some of their
players were classified as "amateur" by FIBA, by earning allowances instead of
wages.
The U.S. winning streak ended in 1972 in one of the most controversial matches in
history, when the Soviet Union beat them in the gold-medal game by one point.
The U.S. team reclaimed the gold medal in 1976, with Yugoslavia, which had
beaten the Soviet Union in the semifinal, finishing runner-up for the second time.
In 1980, with the Americans' absence due to the boycott, Yugoslavia became the
third team to win the title, after beating the Soviets anew in the semifinals
and Italy in the final. The Americans regained the title in 1984, by beating Spain in
the final, with the Soviets boycotting this time. The Soviets won the gold medal for
the second time in 1988, after beating the U.S. team for the second time in the
semifinal, and the Yugoslavs in the gold medal game.
The American team repeated its victory in 1996 and 2000, but its performance was
not as dominant as in 1992. Since active NBA players have been allowed to
compete in the Summer Olympics, the 1996 Games in Atlanta is the only instance
where the Olympic host city also had a home NBA team —
the Hawks. Yugoslavia was the runner-up in Atlanta, and France in Sydney, with
Lithuania winning bronze again on both occasions.
The renewed dominance of the U.S. was interrupted in 2004, when the Americans
barely made it to the semifinal, after losing to Puerto Rico and Lithuania in the
preliminaries; Argentina defeated them in the semifinals, on their way to a gold
medal finish, where they beat Italy in the final, and became the fourth team to win
the Olympic title.
The first women's tournament was staged in the 1976 Summer Olympics.
The Soviet Union won five straight games, becoming the inaugural champion. The
next two tournaments followed the six-team round-robin format, with the Soviets
defending their title in 1980 amid the U.S.-led boycott, and the U.S. winning
in 1984, against the South Koreans, amid the Soviet-led boycott. In 1988, the
tournament expanded into eight teams, with the Americans beating Yugoslavia in
the gold medal game. In 1992, the Unified Team, consisting of the former Soviet
republics, defeated China in the gold medal game. In 1996, the tournament settled
into its current 12-team format; the U.S. has swept all of the tournaments since
then, winning 48 consecutive games.
See also
College basketball in USA
Women's basketball
Timeline of women's basketball history
Basketball rules
Notes
1. ^ Jump up to:a b "James Naismith". Biography.com. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
2. ^ (se) Nordisk Familjeboks Sportlexikon, part 4, korgboll, p. 939-940, edition 1938-
1946, publisher Förlagsaktiebolaget A. Sohlman & Co, Stockholm (via Runeberg
project)
3. ^ de Bry, Theodor; Le Moyne de Morgues, Jacques (1591). "Illustration -
XXXVI". Wahrhafftige Abconterfaytung der Wilden (in German). Frankfurt am
Main: J. Feyerabend & J. Wechel. p. 85. Darnach spielen sie auch mit dem Ballen
auf nachfolgende weise: Mitten auf einem weiten Platz wirdt ihnen ein Baum
auffgerichtet / acht oder neun Ehlen hoch / darauff ist etwas viereckichtes / aus
Binzen geflochten / geleget / welcher sich nun brauchet / und dasselbige mit dem
Ballen trifft / der bekompt etwas sonderlichs zu Lohn.
4. ^ "Basket Football Game". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Massachusetts.
March 12, 2002. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
5. ^ Wolff, Alexander (1991). 100 years of hoops. Internet Archive. Birmingham, AL :
Oxmoor House. ISBN 978-0-8487-1017-0.
6. ^ Arceri-Bianchini, p. 18-19.
7. ^ Associated Press, Newly found documents shed light on basketball's birth,
ESPN.com, November 13, 2006, Sports.espn.go.com. Archived December 1,
2007, at the Wayback Machine
8. ^ Arceri-Bianchini, p. 18.
9. ^ Arceri-Bianchini, p. 21.
10. ^ Arceri-Bianchini, p. 22.
11. ^ Arceri-Bianchini, p. 20.
12. ^ Glenn, Dickey. The history of professional basketball since 1896. New York:
Stein and Day, 1982.
13. ^ "Pioneers in Physical Education". pp. 661–662. Archived from the original on
June 20, 2009. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
14. ^ "Senda Berenson Papers". Archived from the original on February 3, 2016.
Retrieved June 3, 2009.
15. ^ Jenkins, Sally. "History of Women's Basketball". WNBA.com. Archived from the
original on January 6, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
16. ^ Senda Berenson Abbott, Luther Halsey Gulick (director YMCA physical
education department), Theodore Hough, A. Bertha Foster (1901). Basket Ball for
Women. American Sports Publishing Company, New York. Today there are few
gymnasia for women where basket ball is not a part of their curriculum, and
hundreds of basket ball teams are formed yearly in all our cities by women who
play the game at regular times during the winter. It is by far the most popular game
that women play. (Editorial)
17. ^ Arceri-Bianchini, p. 79.
18. ^ Arceri-Bianchini, p. 80.
19. ^ Lesile Colbeck et al., The Basketball World, FIBA, Monaco, 1972, quoted by
Arceri-Bianchini, p. 81.
20. ^ Hoosierhistorian, National Basket Ball League, "Hoopedia", May 9, 2008,
in Hoopedia.nba.com
21. ^ Jump up to:a b Arceri-Bianchini, p. 37.
22. ^ Arceri-Bianchini, p. 38.
23. ^ Arceri-Bianchini, p. 39.
24. ^ Hoosierhistorian, Eastern Basket Ball League, Hoopedia, May 9, 2008,
in Hoopedia.nba.com. Archived October 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
25. ^ Hoosierhistorian, Metropolitan Basketball League, Hoopedia, May 12, 2008,
in Hoopedia.nba.com. Archived October 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
26. ^ Hoosierhistorian, ABL (1925–1955), Hoopedia, May 12, 2008,
in Hoopedia.nba.com. Archived July 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
27. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Traughber, Bill (March 12, 2008). "VU first college to play
basketball". vucommodores.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014.
Retrieved June 6, 2014.
28. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. ESPN. 2009.
pp. 528–529. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
29. ^ Jump up to:a b Pruter, Robert. "Basketball". Encyclopedia of Chicago.
Retrieved June 6, 2014.
30. ^ Arceri-Bianchini, p. 81.
31. ^ Arceri-Bianchini, p. 133.
32. ^ "doc-infiintare-fiba". www.frbaschet.ro.
33. ^ History of FIBA, in FIBA.com.
34. ^ "Olympic Basketball - Summer Olympic Sport". International Olympic
Committee. December 3, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
35. ^ Arceri-Bianchini, p. 185.
36. ^ "NBA.com: The First Game". www.nba.com. Archived from the original on
September 7, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
37. ^ Arceri-Bianchini, p. 49.
38. ^ Mertz, Jeremy; Hoover, L. Donald; Burke, Jean Marie; Bellar, David; Jones, M.
Lani; Leitzelar, Briana; Judge, W. Lawrence (2016). "Ranking the Greatest Nba
Players: A Sport Metrics Analysis". International Journal of Performance Analysis
in Sport. 16 (3): 737–
759. doi:10.1080/24748668.2016.11868925. S2CID 149415949.
39. ^ Staffo, Donald F. (January 12, 1998). "The Development of Professional
Basketball in the United States, with an Emphasis on the History of the NBA to its
50th Anniversary Season in 1996-97". The Physical Educator. 55 (1). ISSN 2160-
1682.
40. ^ Salas, Eduardo; Rosen, Michael A.; Burke, C. Shawn; Goodwin, Gerald F.;
Fiore, Stephen M. (2006), "The Making of a Dream Team: When Expert Teams
Do Best", The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 439–
454, doi:10.1017/cbo9780511816796.025, ISBN 978-0-511-81679-6,
retrieved October 16, 2020
41. ^ Wagner, Matt. "Lakers vs. Celtics Game 7: Los Angeles Lakers Win 2010 NBA
Championship". Bleacher Report.
42. ^ "Kobe announces he will retire after this season". ESPN.com. November 29,
2015.
43. ^ Young, Jake. "LeBron: "I'm taking my talents to South Beach"". Archived
from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
44. ^ "I'm coming home". July 11, 2014.
45. ^ "Why NBA Game Pace Is Historicically High". www.lineups.com. October 29,
2018. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
46. ^ Jump up to:a b c "Remember the ABA". Archived from the