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Basketball was founded in 1891 by a graduate student named James Naismith. Naismith wanted to create a sport that was less injury prone than football and could keep players indoors during the winter (Boustany). It originally consisted of using a peach basket as a hoop.
This would be the beginning of one of the most popular sports. If Naismith never had this idea, we would not have basketball at all. Such a simple concept turned into a worldwide sport. -
By 1904, basketball had been introduced to the olympics (Boustany). It was not a medal event until 1936 which is when it truly became international (Boustany). It was first a medal event in Berlin (Boustany).
This was critical as basketball is now played every year in the olympics. It is one of the biggest international sports. It is one of the most popular medal events and is normally very competitive. -
The National Basketball League was created in 1937. Scheduling was mostly left up to teams and it was founded by three major companies (Boustany). This league was crucial in the creation of what we have now which is the NBA. -
The two existing leagues at the time, the BAA and NBL merged in 1949, forming the NBA (Boustany). This made the NBA one of the biggest leagues in the world. This made it so there was one defined league.
This was important because of how prestigious the NBA is worldwide. Even though the league is in North America, it is still the most prestigious basketball league in the world. Players from all over want to play in the NBA. -
Another league arose in 1967 that challenged the NBA. The name of this league was the ABA (Boustany). The two eventually combined, but the ABA brought the three point line with it. -
In the 1984 draft, the Chicago Bulls selected Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan came from UNC and immediately made an impact for the Bulls. He led the Bulls to 6 championship and is considered the best player of all time.
Michael Jordan to many people is more than a basketball player. He has inspired people for decades. He also has a very popular sneaker line and has a entire brand of his trademark "Air Jordan". -
The Barcelona Olympics, in 1992, was a big year for the US basketball team. They formed an unbeatable team and earned the trademark "The Dream Team". This team consisted of all the best players in the NBA and they won each game by an average of 44 points (Aliesha).
The introduction of the Dream Team was a shock to the world. This impacted global basketball in a huge way. It showed how dominant basketball was in the USA and made other countries want to form their own super teams. -
In 1997, the WNBA was formed (Aliesha). This is the female counterpart to the NBA and has provided women the opportunity to play professional basketball (Aliesha). The WNBA players also take part in national olympic basketball.
This was a huge step as women were not provided as much opportunity in pro sports careers. This gave way to other leagues introducing women's leagues. Even though its not as popular as the NBA, it has been gaining lots of traction the last couple of years. -
In 2003, LeBron James was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron was drafted straight out of high school and immediately made a huge impact in the league. LeBron James is also considered by may to be the greatest of all time.
There is a long time debate about who is the GOAT of basketball between LeBron and Jordan. LeBron also has a popular shoe line, just as Jordan. LeBron has inspired many kids worldwide and is the reason they play basketball. -
In 2020, the NBA had to shut down because of the coronavirus. After a couple months of being shut down, they opened back up into the bubble. The bubble was a site in which the players were all isolated together in Disney World to play their games.
This is an example of how crazy the pandemic really was. The bubble showed how much the NBA was willing to sacrifice in order to make money. The bubble was a weird time in pro basketball and it was not as popular among fans. -
Boustany, Nai. “The History of Basketball: A Timeline.” Red Bull, RedBull, 15 June 2023, www.redbull.com/us-en/history-of-basketball. Accessed 22 Sept. 2023. “History of Basketball: Timeline.” Watts Basketball, wattsbasketball.com/blog/history-of-basketball-timeline. Accessed 22 Sept. 2023.