Since March Madness is here, it’s a great time to share how the game of basketball got started. Basketball is a universal sport to play, watch, and entertain. The creation of basketball developed from James Naismith in 1891. He was Canadian and an instructor for physical education at Springfield College. Originally, teams had five players in 1894. It got changed to seven players and then nine players because of the gym size. A year later, the number of players on a team went back to five players. The basket was made out of a peach basket that was closed at the bottom so players knew if they scored. It wasn’t until 1912 that open nets were used. In the beginning, a basket counted as three points. About two years later, it was reduced down to two points. They used a soccer ball in the early years and then made a laceless molded basketball that was four inches bigger than a soccer ball.
At first, James Naismith created 13 rules. Some of these rules included what a foul was, how a player couldn’t travel, and how there are 15-minute halves.
Soon enough, basketball became very popular worldwide through new players, TV networks, and media. A popular sport on the school playground, pick-up games can often be found at gyms and parks throughout adulthood. With all of this being said, the NBA basketball season usually starts around late October or early November and continues until April. NBA teams play 82 games per season and college teams can play over 40 games depending on how far they go into the playoffs. NBA teams can also make the playoffs and the final two teams will play in the NBA Finals in June. Furthermore, the WNBA season starts in April and ends in late September. The WNBA playoffs start in September and conclude with the finals in October to crown the champion.
Ultimately, March Madness is an important time in college basketball because only 68 teams are selected. In order to keep playing, you have to win. At the end, the final two teams play each other for the National Championship, so it requires consistency and dedication.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/sports/history-of-basketball
https://springfield.edu/about/birthplace-of-basketball
Featured image Photo credit: Danny Karwoski, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commo
Inline image: from Picryl with no copyright restrictions. https://picryl.com/media/dr-james-naismith-0034e2
