Editing Basketball (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of basketball}}

=== Early history ===
A game similar to basketball is mentioned in a 1591 book published in Frankfurt am Main that reports on the lifestyles and customs of coastal North American residents, {{lang|de|Wahrhafftige Abconterfaytung der Wilden}} (German; translates as ''Truthful Depictions of the Savages'':<ref>(sv) [[Nordisk familjeboks sportlexikon: uppslagsverk för sport, gymnastik och friluftsliv]], part 4, [https://runeberg.org/sportlex/4/0548.html korgboll], p. 939-940, edition 1938-1946, publisher Förlagsaktiebolaget A. Sohlman & Co, Stockholm (via Runeberg project)</ref> "Among other things, a game of skill is described in which balls must be thrown against a target woven from twigs, mounted high on a pole. There's a small reward for the player if the target is being hit."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=de Bry |first1=Theodor |url=https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/item/IJCLICQM5WA3KY6LRVCEGOOHSYWNDBNE |title=Wahrhafftige Abconterfaytung der Wilden |last2=Le Moyne de Morgues |first2=Jacques |publisher=J. Feyerabend & J. Wechel |year=1591 |location=Frankfurt am Main |pages=85 |language=de |chapter=Illustrationen - 85 |quote=Darnach spielen sie auch mit dem Ballen auf nachfolgende weise: Mitten auf einem weiten Platz wirdt ihnen ein Baum auffgerichtet / acht oder neun Ehlen hoch / darauff ist etwas viereckichtes / aus Binzen geflochten / geleget / welcher sich nun brauchet / und dasselbige mit dem Ballen trifft / der bekompt etwas sonderlichs zu Lohn. |chapter-url=https://digital.wlb-stuttgart.de/sammlungen/sammlungsliste/werksansicht?id=6&tx_dlf%5Border%5D=title&tx_dlf%5Bid%5D=2484&tx_dlf%5Bpage%5D=85}}</ref>

===Creation===
[[File:James Naismith at Springfield College circa 1920.jpg|thumb|170px|[[James Naismith]] {{c.|1920}}]]
In December 1891, [[James Naismith]], a Canadian-American professor of [[physical education]] and instructor at the International [[YMCA|Young Men's Christian Association]] Training School (now [[Springfield College]]) in [[Springfield, Massachusetts]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ymca.int/who-we-are/history/basketball-a-ymca-invention/ |title=YMCA International – World Alliance of YMCAs: Basketball : a YMCA Invention |website=www.ymca.int |access-date=March 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314065438/http://www.ymca.int/who-we-are/history/basketball-a-ymca-invention/ |archive-date=March 14, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> was trying to keep his gym class active on a rainy day.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/inventions/inventions.html |title=The Greatest Canadian Invention |work=CBC News |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203114542/http://www.cbc.ca/inventions/inventions.html |archive-date=December 3, 2010}}</ref> He sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied and at proper levels of fitness during the long [[New England]] winters. After rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in [[gymnasiums]], he invented a new game in which players would pass a ball to teammates and try to score points by tossing the ball into a basket mounted on a wall. 

[[File:Firstbasketball.jpg|thumb|left|170px|The first basketball court at [[Springfield College]]]]
Naismith wrote the basic [[rules of basketball|rules]] and nailed a [[peach]] basket onto an elevated track. Naismith initially set up the peach basket with its bottom intact, which meant that the ball had to be retrieved manually after each "basket" or point scored. This quickly proved tedious, so Naismith removed the bottom of the basket to allow the balls to be poked out with a long [[dowel]] after each scored basket.

Shortly after, [[Senda Berenson Abbott|Senda Berenson]], instructor of physical culture at the nearby [[Smith College]], went to Naismith to learn more about the game.<ref name="Pioneers in Physical Education" /> Fascinated by the new sport and the values it could teach, she started to organize games with her pupils, following adjusted rules.<ref name="Senda Berenson Papers" /> The first official women's interinstitutional game was played barely 11 months later, between the [[University of California, Berkeley|University of California]] and the Miss Head's School.<ref name="Jenkins" /> In 1899, a committee was established at the Conference of Physical Training in Springfield to draw up general rules for women's basketball. Thus, the sport quickly spread throughout America's schools, colleges and universities with uniform rules for both sexes.<ref name="Berenson1901">{{Cite book |last=Berenson |first=Senda |url=https://archive.org/details/linebasketballor00bere |title=Basket Ball for Women |publisher=American Sports Publishing Company, New York |year=1901 |quote=}}</ref>

[[File:Basketball historic.tif|thumb|150px|The first basketballs used were association footballs]]
Basketball was originally played with a [[ball (association football)|soccer ball]]. These round balls from "[[association football]]" were made, at the time, with a set of laces to close off the hole needed for inserting the inflatable bladder after the other sewn-together segments of the ball's cover had been flipped outside-in.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/store/leather-head-naismith-style-lace-up-basketball-14320.html Leather Head Naismith Style Lace Up Basketball] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911090256/https://www.nytimes.com/store/leather-head-naismith-style-lace-up-basketball-14320.html |date=September 11, 2016 }} (The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2016)</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKf4s9cOKRQ&t=104 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717093710/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKf4s9cOKRQ&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=July 17, 2012 |title=Passion Drives Creation – Jeep® & USA Basketball |last=Jeep |date=July 16, 2012 |via=YouTube}}</ref> These laces could cause bounce passes and dribbling to be unpredictable.<ref>[https://patents.google.com/patent/US1660378 Inflatable ball, Inventor: Frank Dieterle, Patent: US 1660378 A (1928)]  The description in this patent explains problems caused by lacing on the cover of basketballs.</ref> Eventually a lace-free ball construction method was invented, and this change to the game was endorsed by Naismith (whereas in [[American football]], the lace construction proved to be advantageous for gripping and remains to this day). The first balls made specifically for basketball were brown, and it was only in the late 1950s that [[Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle|Tony Hinkle]], searching for a ball that would be more visible to players and spectators alike, introduced the orange ball that is now in common use. Dribbling was not part of the original game except for the "bounce pass" to teammates. Passing the ball was the primary means of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the asymmetric shape of early balls.{{dubious|date=January 2019}} Dribbling was common by 1896, with a rule against the double dribble by 1898.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Naismith |first1=James |title=Basketball : its origin and development |date=1941 |publisher=Association Press |location=New York}}</ref>

The peach baskets were used until 1906 when they were finally replaced by metal hoops with backboards. A further change was soon made, so the ball merely passed through. Whenever a person got the ball in the basket, their team would gain a point. Whichever team got the most points won the game.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naismithmuseum.com/naismith_drjamesnaismith/main_drjamesnaismith.htm |access-date=February 14, 2007 |date=February 14, 2007 |title=James Naismith Biography |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205045627/http://www.naismithmuseum.com/naismith_drjamesnaismith/main_drjamesnaismith.htm |archive-date=February 5, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The baskets were originally nailed to the mezzanine balcony of the playing court, but this proved impractical when spectators in the balcony began to interfere with shots. The backboard was introduced to prevent this interference; it had the additional effect of allowing rebound shots.<ref>Thinkquest, [https://web.archive.org/web/20050318090722/http://library.thinkquest.org/10480/b-ball.html Basketball]. Retrieved January 20, 2009.</ref> Naismith's handwritten diaries, discovered by his granddaughter in early 2006, indicate that he was nervous about the new game he had invented, which incorporated rules from a children's game called [[duck on a rock]], as many had failed before it.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 14, 2006 |title=Newly found documents shed light on basketball's birth |url=https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=2660882 |access-date=July 29, 2022 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref>

Frank Mahan, one of the players from the original first game, approached Naismith after the Christmas break, in early 1892, asking him what he intended to call his new game. Naismith replied that he had not thought of it because he had been focused on just getting the [[game]] started. Mahan suggested that it be called "Naismith ball", at which he laughed, saying that a name like that would kill any game. Mahan then said, "Why not call it basketball?" Naismith replied, "We have a basket and a ball, and it seems to me that would be a good name for it."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/programme/index_uk.asp?SportCode=BK |title=Basketball |website=olympic.org |date=June 26, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090920205645/http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/programme/index_uk.asp?SportCode=BK |archive-date=September 20, 2009 |access-date=December 18, 2005}}{{dubious|date=January 2021|reason the accessdate & archivedate are before the publication date}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=2660882 |title=Newly found documents shed light on basketball's birth |access-date=January 11, 2007 |date=November 13, 2006 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=ESPN |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201225936/http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2660882 |archive-date=December 1, 2007}}</ref> The first official game was played in the [[Young Men's Christian Association Building (Albany, New York)|YMCA gymnasium in Albany]], New York, on January 20, 1892, with nine players. The game ended at 1–0; the shot was made from {{convert|25|ft|m}}, on a court just half the size of a present-day [[Streetball]] or [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) court.

At the time, [[Association football|soccer]] was being played with 10 to a team (which was increased to 11). When winter weather got too icy to play soccer, teams were taken indoors, and it was convenient to have them split in half and play basketball with five on each side. By 1897–98, teams of five became standard.

===College basketball===
{{Main|College basketball}}
[[File:Kansas U team 1899.jpg|thumb|The 1899 University of Kansas basketball team, with James Naismith at the back, right]]
Basketball's early adherents were dispatched to YMCAs throughout the United States, and it quickly spread through the United States and Canada. By 1895, it was well established at several women's high schools. While YMCA was responsible for initially developing and spreading the game, within a decade it discouraged the new sport, as rough play and rowdy crowds began to detract from YMCA's primary mission. However, other amateur sports clubs, colleges, and professional clubs quickly filled the void. In the years before [[World War I]], the [[Amateur Athletic Union]] and the [[Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States]] (forerunner of the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]) vied for control over the rules for the game. The first pro league, the National Basketball League, was formed in 1898 to protect players from exploitation and to promote a less rough game. This league only lasted five years.

James Naismith was instrumental in establishing [[college basketball]]. His colleague C. O. Beamis fielded the first college basketball team just a year after the Springfield YMCA game at the suburban Pittsburgh [[Geneva College]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.postgazette.com/pg/10105/1050305-57.stm |title=Grandson of basketball's inventor brings game's exhibit to Geneva College |newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|Postgazette.com]] |date=April 15, 2010 |access-date=June 3, 2011 |last=Fuoco |first=Linda |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011182132/http://www.postgazette.com/pg/10105/1050305-57.stm |archive-date=October 11, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Naismith himself later coached at the [[Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball|University of Kansas]] for six years, before handing the reins to renowned coach [[Phog Allen|Forrest "Phog" Allen]]. Naismith's disciple [[Amos Alonzo Stagg]] brought basketball to the [[University of Chicago]], while [[Adolph Rupp]], a student of Naismith's at Kansas, enjoyed great success as coach at the [[Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball|University of Kentucky]]. On February 9, 1895, the first intercollegiate 5-on-5 game was played at [[Hamline University]] between Hamline and the School of Agriculture, which was affiliated with the [[University of Minnesota]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hamline.edu/hamline_info/athletics/facilities/hutton_arena.html |title=Hamline University Athletics: Hutton Arena |publisher=Hamline.edu |date=January 4, 1937 |access-date=July 25, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528055346/http://www.hamline.edu/hamline_info/athletics/facilities/hutton_arena.html |archive-date=May 28, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rarenewspapers.com/view/206238 |title=1st Ever Public Basketball Game Played... |website=www.rarenewspapers.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320083548/http://www.rarenewspapers.com/view/206238 |archive-date=March 20, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rarenewspapers.com/view/206238 |title=1st Ever Public Basketball Game Played |date=March 12, 1892 |website=Rare & Early Newspapers |access-date=March 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320083548/http://www.rarenewspapers.com/view/206238 |archive-date=March 20, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The School of Agriculture won in a 9–3 game.

In 1901, colleges, including the [[University of Chicago]], [[Columbia University]], [[Cornell University]], [[Dartmouth College]], the [[University of Minnesota]], the [[United States Naval Academy|U.S. Naval Academy]], the [[University of Colorado Boulder|University of Colorado]] and [[Yale University]] began sponsoring men's games. In 1905, frequent injuries on the [[College football|football]] field prompted President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] to suggest that colleges form a governing body, resulting in the creation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS). In 1910, that body changed its name to the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] (NCAA). The first Canadian interuniversity basketball game was played at [[YMCA]] in [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]], Ontario on February 6, 1904, when [[McGill University]]{{snd}}Naismith's alma mater{{snd}}visited [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]]. McGill won 9–7 in overtime; the score was 7–7 at the end of regulation play, and a ten-minute overtime period settled the outcome. A good turnout of spectators watched the game.<ref>''[[Queen's Journal]]'', vol. 31, no. 7, February 16, 1904; ''105 years of Canadian university basketball'', by Earl Zukerman, {{cite web |url=http://www.cisport.ca/e/m_basketball/story_detail.cfm?id%3D13618 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001193138/http://www.cisport.ca/e/m_basketball/story_detail.cfm?id%3D13618 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 1, 2018 |title=broken link |access-date=February 6, 2009}}</ref>

The first men's national championship tournament, the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball tournament, which still exists as the [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics]] (NAIA) [[NAIA national men's basketball championship|tournament]], was organized in 1937. The first national championship for NCAA teams, the [[National Invitation Tournament]] (NIT) in New York, was organized in 1938; the [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA national tournament]] began one year later. College basketball was rocked by gambling scandals from 1948 to [[CCNY point shaving scandal|1951]], when dozens of players from top teams were implicated in [[match fixing|game-fixing]] and [[point shaving]]. Partially spurred by an association with cheating, the NIT lost support to the NCAA tournament.

===High school basketball===

[[File:Heart Mountain Relocation Center, Heart Mountain, Wyoming. A hotly contested interscholastic basket . . . - NARA - 539726.jpg|thumb|upright|A basketball game between the [[Heart Mountain Relocation Center|Heart Mountain]] and Powell High School girls teams, Wyoming, March 1944]]
[[File:HS Basketball 2024.jpg|thumb|A photo taken during a high school basketball game in 2024. Demonstrates the extreme disparities in terms of physical maturity that can be seen between opposing players. ]]
Before widespread [[school district]] consolidation, most American high schools were far smaller than their present-day counterparts. During the first decades of the 20th century, basketball quickly became the ideal interscholastic sport due to its modest equipment and personnel requirements. In the days before widespread television coverage of professional and college sports, the popularity of [[high school basketball]] was unrivaled in many parts of America. Perhaps the most legendary of high school teams was Indiana's [[Franklin Wonder Five]], which took the nation by storm during the 1920s, dominating Indiana basketball and earning national recognition.

Today virtually every high school in the United States fields a basketball team in [[Varsity team|varsity]] competition.<ref>[https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120424210910/http://www.nfhs.org/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=3506 2008–09 High School Athletics Participation Survey] NFHS.</ref> Basketball's popularity remains high, both in rural areas where they carry the identification of the entire community, as well as at some larger schools known for their basketball teams where many players go on to participate at higher levels of competition after graduation. In the 2016–17 season, 980,673 boys and girls represented their schools in interscholastic basketball competition, according to the [[National Federation of State High School Associations]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nfhs.org/ParticipationStatistics/PDF/2016-17_Participation_Survey_Results.pdf |title=2016–17 High School Athletics Participation Survey |publisher=National Federation of State High School Associations |access-date=February 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225223739/http://www.nfhs.org/ParticipationStatistics/PDF/2016-17_Participation_Survey_Results.pdf |archive-date=February 25, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The states of [[Illinois]], [[Indiana]] and [[Kentucky]] are particularly well known for their residents' devotion to high school basketball, commonly called [[Hoosier Hysteria]] in Indiana; the critically acclaimed film ''[[Hoosiers (film)|Hoosiers]]'' shows high school basketball's depth of meaning to these communities.

[[File:The High School Magazine. Montreal, Canada (1916) (14779954132).jpg|thumb|[[High School of Montreal]] Girls Junior Basketball team, 1915–1916]]⁣There is currently no tournament to determine a national high school champion. The most serious effort was the National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament at the [[University of Chicago]] from 1917 to 1930. The event was organized by [[Amos Alonzo Stagg]] and sent invitations to state champion teams. The tournament started out as a mostly Midwest affair but grew. In 1929 it had 29 state champions. Faced with opposition from the [[National Federation of State High School Associations]] and [[North Central Association of Colleges and Schools]] that bore a threat of the schools losing their accreditation the last tournament was in 1930. The organizations said they were concerned that the tournament was being used to recruit professional players from the prep ranks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=National_Interscholastic_Basketball_Tournament |title=National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament – hoopedeia.nba.com – Retrieved September 13, 2009 |publisher=Hoopedia.nba.com |access-date=July 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810175316/http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=National_Interscholastic_Basketball_Tournament |archive-date=August 10, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The tournament did not invite minority schools or private/parochial schools.

The National Catholic Interscholastic Basketball Tournament ran from 1924 to 1941 at [[Loyola University Chicago|Loyola University]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=National_Catholic_Interscholastic_Basketball_Tournament |title=National Catholic Interscholastic Basketball Tournament, 1924–1941 – hoopedia.nba.com – Retrieved September 13, 2009 |publisher=Hoopedia.nba.com |date=December 7, 1941 |access-date=July 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810174238/http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=National_Catholic_Interscholastic_Basketball_Tournament |archive-date=August 10, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The National Catholic Invitational Basketball Tournament from 1954 to 1978 played at a series of venues, including [[Catholic University of America|Catholic University]], [[Georgetown University|Georgetown]] and [[George Mason University|George Mason]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=National_Catholic_Invitational_Basketball_Tournament |title=National Catholic Invitations Basketball Tournament – hoopedia.nba.com – Retrieved September 13, 2009 |publisher=Hoopedia.nba.com |access-date=July 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810182009/http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=National_Catholic_Invitational_Basketball_Tournament |archive-date=August 10, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament for Black High Schools was held from 1929 to 1942 at [[Hampton University|Hampton Institute]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=National_Interscholastic_Basketball_Tournament_for_Black_Schools |title=– National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament for Black High Schools, 1929–1942 – Retrieved September 13, 2009 |publisher=Hoopedia.nba.com |access-date=July 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810182014/http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=National_Interscholastic_Basketball_Tournament_for_Black_Schools |archive-date=August 10, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The National Invitational Interscholastic Basketball Tournament was held from 1941 to 1967 starting out at [[Tuskegee University|Tuskegee Institute]]. Following a pause during [[World War II]] it resumed at [[Tennessee State University|Tennessee State College]] in Nashville. The basis for the champion dwindled after 1954 when ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' began an integration of schools. The last tournaments were held at [[Alabama State University|Alabama State College]] from 1964 to 1967.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=National_Invitational_Interscholastic_Basketball_Tournament |title=National Invitational Interscholastic Basketball Tournament – hoopedia.nba.com – Retrieved September 13, 2009 |publisher=Hoopedia.nba.com |access-date=July 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810173531/http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=National_Invitational_Interscholastic_Basketball_Tournament |archive-date=August 10, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Professional basketball===
[[File:Liberator-ad.jpg|thumb|upright|Ad from ''[[The Liberator (magazine)|The Liberator]]'' magazine promoting an exhibition in Harlem, March 1922. Drawing by [[Hugo Gellert]]]]
Teams abounded throughout the 1920s. There were hundreds of men's [[professional basketball]] teams in towns and cities all over the United States, and little organization of the professional game. Players jumped from team to team and teams played in armories and smoky dance halls. Leagues came and went. [[Barnstorm (sports)|Barnstorming]] squads such as the [[Original Celtics]] and two all-African American teams, the [[New York Renaissance|New York Renaissance Five]] ("Rens") and the (still existing) [[Harlem Globetrotters]] played up to two hundred games a year on their national tours.

In 1946, the [[Basketball Association of America]] (BAA) was formed. The first game was played in [[Toronto]], Ontario, Canada between the [[Toronto Huskies]] and [[New York Knicks|New York Knickerbockers]] on November 1, 1946. Three seasons later, in 1949, the BAA merged with the [[National Basketball League (United States)|National Basketball League]] (NBL) to form the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA). By the 1950s, basketball had become a major college sport, thus paving the way for a growth of interest in professional basketball. In 1959, a [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame|basketball hall of fame]] was founded in [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]], Massachusetts, site of the first game. Its rosters include the names of great players, coaches, referees and people who have contributed significantly to the development of the game. The hall of fame has people who have accomplished many goals in their career in basketball. An upstart organization, the [[American Basketball Association]], emerged in 1967 and briefly threatened the NBA's dominance until the [[ABA-NBA merger]] in 1976. Today the NBA is the top professional basketball league in the world in terms of popularity, salaries, talent, and level of competition.

[[File:Diamond DeShields (1) drives to the basket around Maya Moore (23) in the Minnesota Lynx vs Chicago Sky game.jpg|thumb|[[Diamond DeShields]] (#1) drives to the basket around [[Maya Moore]] (#23) in the Minnesota Lynx vs Chicago Sky game]]

The NBA has featured many famous players, including [[George Mikan]], the first dominating "big man"; ball-handling wizard [[Bob Cousy]] and defensive genius [[Bill Russell]] of the [[Boston Celtics]]; charismatic center [[Wilt Chamberlain]], who originally played for the barnstorming [[Harlem Globetrotters]]; all-around stars [[Oscar Robertson]] and [[Jerry West]]; more recent big men [[Kareem Abdul-Jabbar]], [[Shaquille O'Neal]], [[Hakeem Olajuwon]] and [[Karl Malone]]; playmakers [[John Stockton]], [[Isiah Thomas]] and [[Steve Nash]]; crowd-pleasing forwards [[Julius Erving]] and [[Charles Barkley]]; European stars [[Dirk Nowitzki]], [[Pau Gasol]], [[Nikola Jokić]] and [[Tony Parker]]; Latin American stars [[Manu Ginobili]], more recent superstars, [[Allen Iverson]], [[Kobe Bryant]], [[Tim Duncan]], [[LeBron James]], [[Stephen Curry]], [[Giannis Antetokounmpo]], etc.; and the three players who many credit with ushering the professional game to its highest level of popularity during the 1980s and 1990s: [[Larry Bird]], [[Magic Johnson|Earvin "Magic" Johnson]], and [[Michael Jordan]].

In 2001, the NBA formed a developmental league, the [[National Basketball Development League]] (later known as the NBA D-League and then the [[NBA G League]] after a branding deal with [[Gatorade]]). As of the 2023–24 season, the G League has 31 teams.

===International basketball===

[[File:Basketball World Cup 2014.jpg|thumb|The U.S. playing against Mexico at the [[2014 FIBA World Cup]]]]
[[FIBA]] (International Basketball Federation) was formed in 1932 by eight founding nations: [[Argentina]], [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Greece]], [[Italy]], [[Latvia]], [[Portugal]], [[Romania]] and [[Switzerland]]. At this time, the organization only oversaw amateur players. Its acronym, derived from the French ''Fédération Internationale de Basket-ball Amateur'', was thus "FIBA". Men's basketball was first [[Basketball at the Summer Olympics|included]] at the Berlin [[1936 Summer Olympics]], although a demonstration tournament was held in 1904. The United States defeated Canada in the first final, played outdoors. This competition has usually been dominated by the United States, whose team has won all but three titles. The first of these came in a controversial final game in [[Munich]] in [[Basketball at the 1972 Summer Olympics|1972]] against the Soviet Union, in which the ending of the game was replayed three times until the Soviet Union finally came out on top.<ref name="Bloomberg">{{cite news |last1=Golden |first1=Daniel |title=Three Seconds at 1972 Olympics Haunt U.S. Basketball |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-23/three-seconds-at-1972-olympics-haunt-u-s-basketball.html |publisher=Bloomberg Business Week |access-date=November 18, 2014 |date=July 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109121347/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-23/three-seconds-at-1972-olympics-haunt-u-s-basketball.html |archive-date=January 9, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1950 the first FIBA World Championship for men, now known as the [[FIBA Basketball World Cup]], was held in Argentina. Three years later, the first FIBA World Championship for women, now known as the [[FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup]], was held in Chile. Women's basketball was added to the Olympics in 1976, which were held in [[Montreal]], Quebec, Canada with teams such as the [[Soviet Union]], [[Brazil women's national basketball team|Brazil]] and [[Australia women's national basketball team|Australia]] rivaling the [[United States women's national basketball team|American]] squads.

In 1989, [[FIBA]] allowed professional NBA players to participate in the Olympics for the first time. Prior to the [[1992 Summer Olympics]], only European and South American teams were allowed to field professionals in the Olympics. The United States' dominance continued with the introduction of the original [[1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team|Dream Team]]. In the [[2004 Summer Olympics|2004 Athens Olympics]], the United States suffered its first Olympic loss while using professional players, falling to [[Puerto Rico national basketball team|Puerto Rico]] (in a 19-point loss) and [[Lithuania men's national basketball team|Lithuania]] in group games, and being eliminated in the semifinals by [[Argentina national basketball team|Argentina]]. It eventually won the bronze medal defeating Lithuania, finishing behind Argentina and [[Italy national basketball team|Italy]]. The [[2008 United States men's Olympic basketball team|Redeem Team]], won gold at the [[Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics|2008 Olympics]], and the B-Team, won gold at the [[2010 FIBA World Championship]] in Turkey despite featuring no players from the 2008 squad. The United States continued its dominance as they won gold at the [[Basketball at the 2012 Summer Olympics|2012 Olympics]], [[2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup|2014 FIBA World Cup]] and the [[Basketball at the 2016 Summer Olympics|2016 Olympics]].

[[File:Матч ЦСКА – Реал Мадрид в ДС «Мегаспорт» 1 февраля 2018 года · 2.jpg|thumb|A [[EuroLeague]] game in [[Megasport Sport Palace|Moscow]] in 2018]]
Worldwide, basketball tournaments are held for boys and girls of all age levels. The global popularity of the sport is reflected in the nationalities represented in the NBA. Players from all six inhabited continents currently play in the NBA. Top international players began coming into the NBA in the mid-1990s, including Croatians [[Dražen Petrović]] and [[Toni Kukoč]], Serbian [[Vlade Divac]], Lithuanians [[Arvydas Sabonis]] and [[Šarūnas Marčiulionis]], Dutchman [[Rik Smits]] and German [[Detlef Schrempf]].

In the Philippines, the [[Philippine Basketball Association]]'s first game was played on April 9, 1975, at the [[Araneta Coliseum]] in [[Quezon City#Cubao|Cubao]], [[Quezon City]], Philippines. It was founded as a "rebellion" of several teams from the now-defunct Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association, which was tightly controlled by the Basketball Association of the Philippines (now defunct), the then-FIBA recognized national association. Nine teams from the MICAA participated in the league's first season that opened on April 9, 1975. The [[National Basketball League Australia|NBL]] is Australia's pre-eminent men's professional basketball league. The league commenced in [[1979 NBL Season|1979]], playing a winter season (April–September) and did so until the completion of the 20th season in [[1998 NBL Season|1998]]. The [[1998–99 NBL season|1998–99]] season, which commenced only months later, was the first season after the shift to the current summer season format (October–April). This shift was an attempt to avoid competing directly against [[Football in Australia|Australia's various football codes]]. It features 8 teams from around Australia and one in New Zealand. A few players including [[Luc Longley]], [[Andrew Gaze]], [[Shane Heal]], [[Chris Anstey]] and [[Andrew Bogut]] made it big internationally, becoming poster figures for the sport in Australia. The [[Women's National Basketball League]] began in 1981.

===Women's basketball===
{{see also|Women's basketball}}
[[File:Smith-College-Class-1902-basketball-team.jpg|thumb|The Smith College Class 1902 basketball team]]
[[File:2006 World Championship for Women Australia.jpg|upright=1.8|thumb|The [[Australia women's national basketball team|Australian women's basketball team]] on winning the [[2006 FIBA World Championship for Women]]]]

Women began to play basketball in the fall of 1892 at [[Smith College]] through [[Senda Berenson Abbott|Senda Berenson]], substitute director of the newly opened gymnasium and physical education teacher, after having modified the rules for women. Shortly after Berenson was hired at Smith, she visited Naismith to learn more about the game.<ref name="Pioneers in Physical Education">{{cite web |url=http://clio.fivecolleges.edu/smith/berenson/1biog/19411000/index.shtml?page=4 |title=Pioneers in Physical Education |pages=661–662 |access-date=June 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620173552/http://clio.fivecolleges.edu/smith/berenson/1biog/19411000/index.shtml?page=4 |archive-date=June 20, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Fascinated by the new sport and the values it could teach, she instantly introduced the game as a class exercise and soon after teams were organized. The first women's collegiate basketball game was played on March 21, 1893, when her Smith freshmen and sophomores played against one another.<ref name="Senda Berenson Papers">{{cite web |url=http://clio.fivecolleges.edu/smith/berenson/ |title=Senda Berenson Papers |access-date=June 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203084349/http://clio.fivecolleges.edu/smith/berenson/ |archive-date=February 3, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smith.edu/newssmith/fall2003/100.php |title=You Come in as a Squirrel and Leave as an Owl |access-date=June 3, 2011 |last=Peacock-Broyles |first=Trinity |work=Smith.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615080005/http://www.smith.edu/newssmith/fall2003/100.php |archive-date=June 15, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> The first official women's interinstitutional game was played later that year between the [[University of California, Berkeley|University of California]] and the Miss Head's School.<ref name="Jenkins">{{cite web |last=Jenkins |first=Sally |title=History of Women's Basketball |url=http://www.wnba.com/about_us/jenkins_feature.html |work=WNBA.com |access-date=January 21, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106144210/http://www.wnba.com/about_us/jenkins_feature.html |archive-date=January 6, 2013}}</ref> In 1899, a committee was established at the Conference of Physical Training in Springfield to draw up general rules for women's basketball.<ref>The conference took place at the YMCA training school - see [https://web.archive.org/web/20160121231122/http://clio.fivecolleges.edu/smith/berenson/1biog/18990600/ newsclip] (archived)</ref> These rules, designed by Berenson, were published in 1899.<ref name="Berenson1901" /> In 1902 Berenson became the editor of [[Spalding (sports equipment)|A. G. Spalding]]'s first Women's Basketball Guide.<ref name="Senda Berenson Papers" /> The same year women of [[Mount Holyoke College|Mount Holyoke]] and [[H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College|Sophie Newcomb College]] (coached by [[Clara Gregory Baer]]), began playing basketball. By 1895, the game had spread to colleges across the country, including [[Wellesley College|Wellesley]], [[Vassar College|Vassar]], and [[Bryn Mawr College|Bryn Mawr]]. The first intercollegiate women's game was on April 4, 1896. [[Stanford Cardinal women's basketball|Stanford]] women played [[California Golden Bears women's basketball|Berkeley]], 9-on-9, ending in a 2–1 Stanford victory.

Women's basketball development was more structured than that for men in the early years. In 1905, the executive committee on Basket Ball Rules (National Women's Basketball Committee) was created by the [[American Physical Education Association]].<ref name="Historical Timeline">{{cite web |url=http://www.wbhof.com/timeline.html |title=Historical Timeline |access-date=June 2, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621024009/http://www.wbhof.com/timeline.html |archive-date=June 21, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> These rules called for six to nine players per team and 11 officials. The [[International Women's Sports Federation]] (1924) included a women's basketball competition. 37 women's high school varsity basketball or state tournaments were held by 1925. And in 1926, the Amateur Athletic Union backed the first [[NAIA national women's basketball championship|national women's basketball championship]], complete with men's rules.<ref name="Historical Timeline" /> The [[Edmonton Grads]], a touring Canadian women's team based in [[Edmonton, Alberta|Edmonton]], Alberta, operated between 1915 and 1940. The Grads toured all over North America, and were exceptionally successful. They posted a record of 522 wins and only 20 losses over that span, as they met any team that wanted to challenge them, funding their tours from gate receipts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.histori.ca/minutes/lp.do?id=13113 |title=The Great Teams |access-date=June 2, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812064236/http://www.histori.ca/minutes/lp.do?id=13113 |archive-date=August 12, 2010}}</ref> The Grads also shone on several exhibition trips to Europe, and won four consecutive exhibition Olympics tournaments, in 1924, 1928, 1932, and 1936; however, women's basketball was not an official Olympic sport until 1976. The Grads' players were unpaid, and had to remain single. The Grads' style focused on team play, without overly emphasizing skills of individual players. The first women's [[Amateur Athletic Union|AAU]] All-America team was chosen in 1929.<ref name="Historical Timeline" /> Women's industrial leagues sprang up throughout the United States, producing famous athletes, including [[Babe Zaharias|Babe Didrikson]] of the [[Golden Cyclones]], and the [[All American Red Heads Team]], which competed against men's teams, using men's rules. By 1938, the women's national championship changed from a three-court game to [[6 on 6 Basketball|two-court game with six players per team]].<ref name="Historical Timeline" />
[[File:Brittney Griner accepting Wade Trophy 2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Brittney Griner]] accepting an award]]
The NBA-backed [[Women's National Basketball Association]] (WNBA) began in 1997. Though it had shaky attendance figures, several marquee players ([[Lisa Leslie]], [[Diana Taurasi]], and [[Candace Parker]] among others) have helped the league's popularity and level of competition. Other [[women's professional sports|professional women's basketball]] leagues in the United States, such as the [[American Basketball League (1996–98)]], have folded in part because of the popularity of the WNBA. The WNBA has been looked at by many as a niche league. However, the league has recently taken steps forward. In June 2007, the WNBA signed a contract extension with [[ESPN]]. The new television deal ran from 2009 to 2016. Along with this deal, came the first-ever rights fees to be paid to a women's professional sports league. Over the eight years of the contract, "millions and millions of dollars" were "dispersed to the league's teams." In a March 12, 2009, article, [[NBA]] commissioner [[David Stern]] said that in the bad economy, "the NBA is far less profitable than the WNBA. We're losing a lot of money among a large number of teams. We're budgeting the WNBA to break even this year."<ref>''[[Television New Zealand]]'', [http://tvnz.co.nz/basketball-news/nba-getting-through-tough-times-2539976 BASKETBALL | NBA getting through tough times] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318010025/http://tvnz.co.nz/basketball-news/nba-getting-through-tough-times-2539976 |date=March 18, 2015 }}</ref>