History of Basketball

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500ish years ago The first basketball type of game may have been played by the early Olmec People as early as 500 years ago, the Aztec and the Mayan's also played a similar game, but instead of a rubber ball, they played with decapitated skulls of their enemies.	Link to the Image author: Madman2001 CC BY 3.0-(attribution required) Wikimedia Commons no changes were made
December 1891 A physical instructor at a YMCA school, James Naismith, created basketball and wrote the original 13 rules of basketball.	Link to the image author: Evdcoldeportes. Public domain Wikimedia Commons no changes were made
January 20, 1892 The public was invited to see the first basketball game at a YMCA school in Springfield, Massachusetts.	The U.S. National Archives, nara.getarchive.net, Copyright-Only Dedication* (based on United States law) or Public Domain Certification no changes were made
1893 Vanderbilt was the first college to have a basketball team.	Link to the image author: TonyTheTiger CC BY-SA 4.0(attribution, share-alike) Wikimedia Commons no changes were made
1898 The first basketball league was founded, and it was called the NBL(National Basketball League), but it later failed to bring any attention, and in all, it was a massive flop as people didn't know what basketball was. This league remained, though it didn't have any attention.	Link to the image TempleM CC BY-SA 4.0(attribution, share-alike) Wikimedia Commons changes were made. nchanges were made
1906 The National Collegiate Athletic Association or the NCAA is founded.	Link to the Image pixy.org Matthew 25 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0(attribution, noncommerical, noderiatives) no changes were made
June 18, 1932 The International Basketball Federation(FIBA) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland. This federation still remains as the international governing body for basketball.	Link to the image Public domain Wikimedia Commons no changes were made
1936 Basketball is officially added to the Olympics and will continue to be in the Olympics.	The U.S. National Archives nara.getarchive.net public domain no changes were made
1938 The National Invitational Tournament or the NIT is founded.	link to the image yusuke toyoda CC BY-SA 2.0(attribution, share-alike) Wikimedia Commons no changes were made
Late 1939 The first basketball league in the NCAA happens, and this made college basketball thrive.	Link to the image Howard the Duck CC BY-SA 4.0(attribution, share-alike) Wikimedia Commons no changes were made
1946 The Basketball Association of America (BAA) formed and almost ran the NBL out of business as it had more sponsorships and a lot more money when it started.	Link to the image BAA Limited Public domain Wikimedia Commons changes were made
1949 The NBL and the BAA merged to create the NBA or the National Basketball Association. Many basketball teams were also formed to play in this league.	Link to the image author not mentioned pixy.org CC BY-NC-ND 4.0(attribution, non-commercial, no deriatives) no changes were made
1950 Financial stress in the NBA dwindled the original 17 teams to only eight teams. These Eight Teams were, The Boston Celtics, The New York Knickerbockers, and the Philadelphia Warriors(Golden State Warriors). The other teams were the Wayne Pistons (Detroit Pistons), Minneapolis Lakers(LA Lakers), the Rochester Royals(Sacramento Kings), Tri-City Hawks(Atlanta Hawks), and the Syracuse Nationals(Philadelphia 76ers).	Link to the image Pixabay Public Domain changes were made no changes were made
1956 Bill Russel was drafted into the NBA. This was an important time because Bill Russell is known to be one of the "legends" in basketball. He is also deemed to be the best player of all time.	Link to the image Steve Lipofsky CC BY-SA 3.0(attribution, sharealike) Wikimedia Commons changes were made
1960 The 1960s was an OK time for Basketball history. Many new players were drafted to NBA teams, such as Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and Bob McNeill. These guys were some of the most popular players in the '60s, and they helped the sport grow a lot.	Link to the image Unknown author Public domain Wikimedia Commons no changes were made
1978 Larry Burt was drafted by the Boston Celtics and Magic Johnson was drafted by the LA Lakers and this was the greatest rivalry of all time. Also many new teams such as Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers, and the Los Angeles Clippers formed.	Link to the image CC BY 3.0(attribution) ProSymbols, US no changes were made
1989 The Chicago Bulls drafted Michael Jordan, and he was the one who carried the league to new heights.	Link to the image Myles Cullen Public domain Wikimedia Commons no changes were made
April 24, 1996 The NBA's popularity started to grow, and the organization decided to create a new branch called the Women's National Basketball Association. To learn more about women's basketball, click here!	Link to the image Lorie Shaull CC BY-SA 4.0(attribution, share-alike) Wikimedia Commons no changes were made
Late 2003 After Jordan's retirement in 2003, many new basketball players such as Steph Curry, Lebron James, Tim Duncan, and Alen Iverson helped the NBA's brand grow into the basketball league we all know today. Also, over the past few years, social media had an enormous effect on basketball.	Link to the image Cyrus Saatsaz CC BY-SA 4.0(attribution, share-alike) Wikimedia Commons no changes were made

Like many other sports, basketball started as a very simple concept and later became one of the world's biggest game. From reading this webpage, I hope you understand what basketball was and what it is now, and how much it has developed.

To learn more about the specific history of basketball click here!

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