Basketball Sports

Basketball is now one of the most popular sports throughout the entire planet. The difference between basketball and many of the other most popular sports is its relatively early origin. Basketball has a short history, and is a game that was founded, according to Basketball trivia, by Dr. James Naismith.Dr. Naismith was a Canadian instructor of phys ed. In 1891 he was working in Springfield, Massachusetts, with the YMCA. A Basketball quiz will show that he invented the game trying to find something that would keep the young men in shape during the winter. Many other games were not suited for playing indoors, or were not strenuous enough. So, Dr. Naismith attached peach baskets to a railing ten feet high and created a game where points were scored by throwing a ball into the basket. That is how basketball was born.

Basketball trivia shows many interesting changes to the game over the years. Teams made up of five players a side was a relatively early change, taking place in 1897. An important innovation was the backboard, introduced in 1906, which opened up the game to shots that bounce in. Perhaps the most important change to the game itself came in the 1950s. This was when basketballs (soccer balls had been used originally) began to be manufactured in such a way that they bounced evenly and uniformly. This is when dribbling became a part of the game.

A basketball quiz will show the game has gone through several evolutions to reach its current professional structure. The first professional league had been created as early as 1898, although it would last only a few years. Two leagues, the BAA (founded 1946) and the NBL, would merge in 1949 to create the NBA, the national basketball association. A new league, the American Basketball Association, began in 1967, but would eventually merge with the NBA to leave the NBA in its current form.Basketball has become such a popular professional sport to a large degree because of some of its most famous players. Earlier examples of these stars include players like Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul Jabar. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird could be said to represent the next generation of star players. Currently, players like Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Lebron James keep the game exciting for fans. The most famous basketball player of all time is without a doubt Michael Jordan, and he also has to be given a great deal of credit for the increasing popularity of the game.