Did you know that basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world? It is played by millions of people around the world! But have you ever wondered how basketball started out and how much it has evolved over time? (Spoiler: It’s evolved a lot.)
Basketball was invented in 1891 by Springfield College instructor James Naismith. It started out as two teams with 9 players each (Compared to today's 12-15) and you had to throw a soccer ball into a peach basket that was usually attached to a balcony. One big difference is that, in today’s game, dribbling is a very important skill. But in 1891, when basketball was first invented, you actually weren’t allowed to dribble the ball! When you got the ball, you couldn’t move with it! Players had to pass the ball from where they were standing when they got the ball!
Another different rule from the original game is that if one team had three fouls in a row (meaning three fouls without the other team fouling) a point would be awarded to the other team (which I kind of think makes sense). This is a little similar to the rule in today’s game where if one team has five fouls in one quarter, the other team will enter the “bonus.” Normally, foul shots will only be awarded if the foul happened while the player was shooting, but when a team is in the bonus, they will be awarded foul shots after any foul, regardless of whether the foul was during a shot or not.
The Beginning of The NBA
In 1946, the Basketball Association of America (The BAA) was founded. At the time, it only had 11 teams, and only three of them still exist today; the Boston Celtics, the New York Knicks, and the Philadelphia Warriors (Now known as the Golden State Warriors having moved to California in 1962.) In 1949, the NBA officially started when the BAA merged with its rival league, the National Basketball League (the NBL.) There were still 11 teams in the NBA, and in the first years of its existence, many teams folded (meaning they left the league) And lots of other teams joined the league.
In the early 1950s, the NBA had a huge problem. The games were very boring. This is because teams would get the lead, and then just stall for the rest of the game, causing the games to be very low scoring. In fact, in 1950, one game ended with a final score of 19 to 18. The problem continued, and the NBA even almost went bankrupt! To fix this, Daniel Biasone, the owner of one of the teams at the time, came up with the idea of a shot clock. This means that every time a team got the ball, there would be a 24 second clock, and if they didn’t shoot the ball in time, it would be a shot clock violation and the other team would get the ball. This was a great idea, and he quickly convinced the NBA to add it. It worked, and the first game with the shot clock ended 98 to 95. The shot clock is still a thing today, and the average points per team in a game today is about 115! If the shot clock had never been invented, the NBA might not exist today.
The First Superstars
Throughout the history of the NBA, there have been many superstars. The first ever superstar is considered to be George Mikan, who played for the Minneapolis Lakers (now the Los Angeles Lakers) from 1949 to 1954. He played six seasons, and led his team to an impressive five championships in those six seasons! In today’s game, the average height of a player is around 6 foot six, with centers often being close to seven feet tall. But in the 1950s, not only was George Mikan one of the tallest NBA players at six foot ten, he was actually one of the tallest people in the world at the time!
In the 1960s, there was a rivalry between two stars: Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. They both played the center position, with Wilt being 7 foot 1 and Russell being 6 foot 10. Wilt played for the Philadelphia Warriors, (which became the San Francisco Warriors while Wilt was still there), the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Lakers, while Bill Russell played for just the Boston Celtics. Bill Russell had a record setting 11 championships (which is still the record among players) including 8 championships in a row from 1958 to 1965. He is considered to be one of the best defensive players of all time, though he didn’t particularly shine on offense. Wilt Chamberlain, on the other hand, was very good offensively and defensively, (though Bill Russell was still a better defender) and Wilt was also amazing at rebounding, having gotten 55 in a game once, which is the record. Wilt is most commonly known for his iconic record setting 100 point game in 1962. Wilt was known for his crazy statlines, even averaging 50 points per game and 25 rebounds per game in the 1962 season (but he still didn’t win MVP, and neither did star Oscar Robertson, who averaged 30 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists per game. The MVP that year was Bill Russell, who averaged 19 points per game and 23 rebounds per game.) In his career, Wilt Chamberlain won 2 championships in 1967 and 1972. When you consider all of that, it’s easy to see why Russell vs. Wilt was a big debate, and still is. (me, personally, I think Russell is better, though you have to dig a little deeper to find that.)
Again, Basketball is played by so many people around the world, and it has had a very interesting history! There’s lots of other things about the beginning of the NBA, but this would be way too long to include all that.