BASKETBALL HISTORY
In early December 1891, Basketball is unique in that it was invented by one person by a canadian bord Dr. James Naismith , He is also minister on the faculty of a college for YMCA professionals which is called today as Springfield College located in Springfield, Massachusetts . This is a vigorous indoor game to which will keep young men occupied during the long New England winters. Some Legend has it that after rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums , Dr. James Naismith wrote the basic rules of the games. He then nailed a peach basket onto the ten-foot elevated track.
Then womens basketball began in 1892 at Smith College , a physical education teacher named Senda Berenson modified rules for made by Dr. James Naismith speficically women. The first official basketball game was played in the YMCA gymnasium on January 20 , 1892 with nine players, on a court just half the size of a present-day NBA court. "Basket ball", the name suggested by one of Naismith's students, was popular from the beginning.
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Basketball's early adherents were dispatched to YMCAs throughout the United States, and it quickly spread through the country. By 1896, it was well established at several women's colleges. While the YMCA was responsible for initially developing and spreading the game, within a decade, it discouraged the new sport, as rough play and rowdy crowds began to detract from the YMCA's primary mission. However, other amateur sports clubs, colleges, and professional clubs quickly filled the void. In the years before World War I, the Amateur Athletic Union and the Intercollegiate Athletic Association vied for control over the rules for the game.
| HISTORY TIME LINE OF BASKETBALL
1891 Basketball is invented by Dr. James Naismith, an instructor at a YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts. 1895 The backboard is introduced to prevent fans from interfering with play (baskets were often hung on balconies). 1898 The first professional league, the National Basketball League, is formed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 1908 The dribbler is permited to shoot the ball, and the NCAA eliminates the double dribble. 1914 NCAA, Amateur Athletic Union and YMCA rules are standardized. 1920 Players are allowed to re-enter the game. 1925 The first major professional league, the American Basketball Association is formed. (The ABL is the first league to sign players to exclusive contracts and it's teams are located in many of the major cities in the country) 1930 Professional leagues eliminate the double dribble. 1931 The American Basketball League disbands. 1932 The midcourt line is introdued to eliminate stalling. 1937 The center jump ball after each score is eliminated. 1937 The National Basketball League is formed. (The Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings can all trace their heritage beck to the the NBL, and the league featured many future NBA stars such as George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Dolph Schayes, Bob Davies and Red Holzman) 1946 The Basketball Association of America, a forerunner of the NBA is formed. (Three of the league's orginal 11 franchises are still playing today- the New York Knickerbockers, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia (now Golden State) Warriors) 1948 Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Rochester jump to the BAA from the NBL 1949 The BAA merges with the National Basketball League to form the National Basketball Association. 1950 The NBA begins racial integration when Earl Loyd, Nat Clifton and Chuck Cooper join the league. 1954 The NBA introduces the shot clock to curtail stalling tactics. 1960 The Minneapolis become the first team to move to the West Coast as they become the Los Angeles Lakers 1961 The rival American Basketball League begins play and introduces the three-point shot. 1962 The ABL disbands 1967 A rival to the NBA, the American Basketball Association is formed. (The ABA would go on to develop some of the most exciting players in pro basketball, including Julius Erving, George Gervin, David Thompson, Connie Hawkins, Artis Gilmore, George McGinnis, Roger Brown and Moses Malone) 1976 The NBA expands to include the ABA's surviving franchises. (the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets and San Antonio Spurs) 1992 Professional basketball players are allowed in the Olympics and the "Dream Team" (featuring Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson) is born.
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The first professional basketball league was formed in 1898; players earned $2.50 for home games, $1.25 for games on the road. Not quite 100 years later, Juwan Howard, a star player for the Washington Bullets (now called the Washington Wizards ), had competing offers of more than $100 million over seven seasons from the Bullets and the Miami Heat.
Many teams in the National Basketball Association now have foreign players , who return home to represent their native countries during the Olympic Games. The so-called Dream Team, made up of the top American professional basketball players, has represented the United States in recent Olympic Games. In 1996 the Dream Team trailed some opponents until fairly late in the games—an indication of basketball's growing international status. In Athens in 2004 Argentina took home the gold, the first time a Latin American country won the basketball honor.