The History of American Basketball

The first basketball game

On December 21, 1891, James Naismith published rules for a new game using five base ideas and thirteen rules. That day, he asked his class to play a match in the Armory Street court: 9 versus 9, using a soccer ball and two peach baskets. Naismith was the inventor of the new game. Someone proposed to call it “Naismith Game”, but he suggested “We have a ball and a basket: why don’t we call it basketball?

YMCA, U.S. Army spread development

It was the YMCA that had a major role in spreading basketball throughout the United States, Canada, and the world. In 1893, The First World War broke out in 1914, and the U.S. Army started fighting in Europe in 1917. During World War I, American Expeditionary Force brought basketball wherever they went. Professional leagues, teams and organizations

The first professional league was founded in 1898. Then, many small championships were organized, but most of them were not as important as some teams who played for money against challengers.  In the 1920s and 1930s, Eastern Basket Ball League (founded in 1909),Metropolitan Basketball League (founded in 1921) and American Basketball League (founded in 1925)were the most important leagues.

American Colleges’ forefront of early Basketball Activity

Colleges in America showed the greatest level of early basketball activity . The first recorded instance of an organized college basketball game was played between an New Brighton YMCA and Geneva College on April 8, 1893, in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

NBA founded

The league was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). 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 US in terms of popularity, salaries, talent, and level of competition.

The American Basketball Association (ABA) was founded as an alternative to the NBA in 1967  at a time when the NBA was experiencing a lot of popularity. Julius Erving was the leading player in the league, and helped launch a modern style of play that emphasizes leaping and play above the rim. National recognition and earnings were low, leading the league to look for a way out of its problems. Merger with the more established and very successful NBA was seen as a solution. The ABA was folded into the NBA in the summer of 1976.  The aggressive, loose style of play and the three-point shot were taken up by the NBA.

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