Basketball was invented in 1891 by a teacher in Springfield, Massachusetts. His name was James Naismith. He was a physical education teacher and came up with the concept of basketball as a way to keep his students busy during his classes.
The first string nets only appeared in the 1900s. Before this, peach baskets were used as hoops, and there was no opening at the bottom of the basket, which meant that officials were tasked with removing the ball after every shot.
Up until the 1950s, soccer balls were used as basketballs. In order to ensure that they had a better grip on the ball, players would rub coal dust on their hands.
It only became an official Olympic event in 1936, when it premiered at the Summer Games that took place in Berlin. Women’s basketball was only introduced to the Olympics in the 1970s.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was formed after the merging of two leagues – the National Basketball League and the Basketball Association of America. This took place in August of 1946.
The most NBA championships ever won by a team is credited to the Boston Celtics, who have won seventeen championships in total. During the period spanning from 1960 to 1966 they won seven straight championships.
Lenny Wilkins (the former coach of the Atlanta Hawks) has won more basketball games in his career than any other coach, ever. That’s a pretty impressive title to hold.
Michael Jordan is famous for a reason – he has scored more points than any other player in the playoffs, with a point total of 5,987. But he was never a unanimous MVP. In fact, no one has ever won that award unanimously. Stephen Curry may become the first player to do so, and there also is a case being made that he should win the Most Improved Player award, too.
Basketball started out with a similar playing style to netball – as dribbling was not introduced until the 1950s. Before this, players were required to catch the ball, would have leeway of a few steps in order to slow down and regain their balance, and would then be required to stop and throw the ball from the place that they were standing.
The NBA logo contains a silhouette of former all-star Los Angeles Lakers player, Jerry West.
All of the NBA uniforms have been manufactured by Adidas.
Basketball is credited as the sport that causes more injuries than any other sport. The most common injury that afflicts players is that of a sprained ankle. Knee injuries are also quite common.
If you fancy a career in Basketball, or would like to enter into the market of sports-related jobs, you may find that arming yourself with as much knowledge as possible comes handy in your job-search process.