History of basketball: from ancient times to modern times

To date, basketball is considered one of the most popular and spectacular team games. It is worth noting that the history of basketball is very interesting. After all, this is one of the few sports, the appearance of which was clearly fixed - both the date and the place of its creation are known.

History of the origin of basketball

Despite the fact that it is considered an American invention of the 19th century, an analogue of such a game existed several thousand years ago. It was an ancient ritual game of Maya Indians called "pok-ta-pok". A stone ring was attached to the wall of the arena, the diameter of which almost corresponded to the diameter of the ball. By the way, in those days the balls were made of rubber and there was no cavity inside them - they weighed from 2 to 4 kilograms.

The rules differed slightly from modern basketballs - the ball could not be touched by hands, all the blows on the topic were applied with back, hips or elbows. Indeed, this game was incredibly complex. The losing team was sacrificed to the gods. Or, on the contrary, the lucky winners were sent to the competition with the gods themselves.

The history of basketball: the creation of the game

In fact, it is unknown whether the inventor of modern basketball knew about the ancient "pok-ta-pok".

A young Canadian physical education teacher James Naismith worked at the Springfield School of the Young Men's Christian Union in Massachusetts. In the winter time, the only possible sport for young students was gymnastics. In order to somehow diversify the pastime of the youth, the teacher decided to invent a new game.

At first he asked to attach baskets to the balconies without a bottom. The principle of the game was quite simple - the students were divided into two teams and tried to throw as many of the balls as possible into the opponent's basket. In December 1891 Naismith presented his "invention" to the students - and the story of basketball began. Next, the creator developed the first 13 rules, which changed and improved with each match played.

It is unlikely that the young physical education teacher expected such an excitement around the game he invented. The first competition was held on December 21, 1891. 18 students of the school participated in the match. Interestingly, the first game ended with a score of 1: 0, which for today is far from impressive.

But the popularity of basketball grew like a snowball to whom. Pupils, going on vacations to their homes, gladly introduced their friends to a new, terrific game. Quite soon the basketball courts could be seen across the country. But rumors of a new competition leaked outside the United States, as the students of Naismith were the people of Canada and Japan.

History of basketball as a professional sport

A few years later he became a real professional sport. Already in 1898 the National Basketball League was created, which lasted five years, after which it split into several separate clubs.

It is worth noting that there were no stable teams in those years. Laws were allowed to change the composition of each of them several times in a season. Before each new game the composition could completely change. By the way, the most successful basketball players were paid from one dollar per minute of the game, which at that time was considered a very good salary.

In 1925 the American Basketball League was created. The rules of basketball have changed all the time, making the game more dynamic, active and safe. And already in 1936 basketball appeared in the program of the Summer Olympic Games, which were held in Berlin.

To date, it is unlikely that there will be at least one person who does not know what basketball is. Its history is very interesting for both professional players and amateurs.