James Naismith, a Springfield College instructor, invented basketball in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He created the game as a means to condition athletes during the cold months, using a soccer ball and two peach baskets as goals. It is these baskets that gave the sport its name.
The first game took place in 1891 at the International Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Training School, now called Springfield College. Originally, Naismith designed the game intending to toss the basketball into the fruit baskets attached to the gym balcony’s lower railing. Whenever a player scored a point, the game had to stop for the janitor to bring a ladder and retrieve the ball from the basket. They soon decided to remove the bottoms of the fruit baskets, since it was impractical to retrieve the ball after every score.
Nonetheless, the YMCA Training School’s students found the game exciting after much running and shooting. Word quickly spread about the new sport, and various groups reached out to Naismith for a copy of the game’s rules. The rules, comprising 13 regulations, were later posted in the YMCA Training School’s publication called the “Triangle.”
The rules were later mailed to other YMCAs in the country. Since Springfield College had an international student body, the sport quickly spread to other countries. Initially, high schools and colleges adopted the sport. By 1905, basketball was an official winter sport.
During the game’s first two years, a soccer ball was the ball of choice. In 1894, the inaugural basketball became available for sale. It featured lacing and had a circumference of nearly 32 inches, which was roughly 4 inches larger than a standard soccer ball. Furthermore, it weighed under 20 ounces. It wasn’t until around 1948 or 1949 that manufacturers introduced the official 30-inch laceless molded basketball still in use to date.
Additionally, players had a choice of three uniform types: knee-length football pants, tights similar to those worn by wrestlers, or short padded pants. Players paired these outfits with knee guards. This gear laid the foundation for modern uniforms. The basketball courts often had irregular shapes, and occasionally featured obstacles such as pillars, stairways, or offices that disrupted play. However, in 1903, it became mandatory for all court boundary lines to be straight and uninterrupted.
In 1893, the Narragansett Machinery Co. introduced an iron hoop with a hammock-style basket. Originally, retrieving the ball after a score involved a ladder, then a pole, and eventually a chain attached to the net's bottom. Nets with open bottoms became the standard in 1912.
During the 1895-1896 season, the scoring system saw changes, reducing the points awarded for a scored basket, also called a field goal, from three points to two. For a free throw, which is an uncontested shot from a line in front of the basket following a foul, the points were reduced from three to one.
As basketball continued to gain popularity in the United States, professional leagues started to emerge. Basketball fans began to enthusiastically support their local teams. The very first professional league, the National Basketball League (NBL), came into existence in 1898.
Despite having a governing body in the United States, the sport lacked an international organization. It took multiple appeals from basketball enthusiasts to have it featured as a demonstration sport in the 1904 Olympics.
However, a significant turning point occurred in 1932 with the establishment of FIBA (International Basketball Federation). FIBA's efforts in advancing the international game played a crucial role in making basketball an official Olympic sport in 1936, a competition won by the US National Team.
In June 1946, Boston Garden owner Walter Brown had an insight. He recognized that large ice hockey arenas, often unused in the evenings, could serve as venues for basketball games. This led to his founding of the Basketball Association of America. Three years later this organization merged with the National Basketball League to form the National Basketball Association (NBA).
