Basketball Over Time By swilliams588 Dec 21, 1891 Basketball Invented Jan 23, 1896 Backboard was added Jan 21, 1897 5 players at a time Jan 21, 1906 Rims with open nets became standard Jan 21, 1908 Player ejected after 5 fouls Jan 21, 1915 Dribbler is allowed to shoot Jan 21, 1923 Designated free throw eliminated Jan 21, 1944 3 second lane rule introduced Jan 21, 1950 Nat Clifton, Earl Lloyd, and Charles Cooper became the 1st black players to play in the NBA Nat Clifton, Earl Lloyd, and Charles Cooper Jan 21, 1988 NBA adds third referee
