Who invented the game of Basketball?

Basketball is the most popular game that is played all over the world. The history of the origin of Basketball is fascinating. This game was invented in 1891 by James Naismith, who was a Canadian-American physical educator. At that time, he was working at the Springfield YMCA Training School in Massachusetts College. In that year, James Naismith asked to create an indoor game that could be played during winter. They gave him only 14 days to develop the game, and the target of this directive was to create a creative and healthy that could be played during the brutal New England winter.

Naismith struggled a lot to create a game that would meet the objectives of that directive. At first, he thought to bring an outdoor game, but later, he felt that outdoor sports are not possible to play in such a small indoor place. Then Naismith recalled a game played in his childhood in Canada, which was “duck on a rock.” The game was involved tossing rocks at other rocks and the giant rock atop a stone and knocking the rock down. The invention of this game didn’t happen too quickly.

But the trouble was he didn’t find any packages for this game. But at the next moment, he thought to use a discarded peach basket, and he took it from the cafeteria. But the main trouble with this basket was that he constantly needed someone to remove the ball. So, to solve this problem, he cut the bottom of the basket to allow the ball to fall through, and the students started playing this game smoothly. After that, he got an idea of attaching a box high on the wall, and players will try to throw a ball into the box, and if they succeed, they will get the point. And thus, the basketball game was invented. And this game doesn’t require ample space to play.

James Naismith drew up the rules for this new game within 1 hour, and most of the rules are still used in the game, and some are modified. At first, he mentioned 13 rules in total to play this game legally. And the rules were straightforward to understand, so the students found them very easy and exciting. And for this reason, this game got an instant success. It became more attractive to the players and the coaches because they could have great exercise without going outside in the winter. So they can easily practice it indoors, and it doesn’t require ample space.

Very quickly, this basketball game became popular and spread widely. YMCA school’s graduates traveled across the country to introduce their new game to the people. And the people of the towns and cities accepted this game as it is straightforward and exciting.

James Naismith never imagined the massive popularity of his make-believe game. And he was shocked when he witnessed that Basketball became an official Olympic Sport in 1936.

James Naismith never earned fame or money for his unique invention in his lifetime. But after his death (in 1939), the basketball game spread widely across the world, and it is still a very famous and exciting game, and the young people enjoy this game vary much both in playing and watching.

World basketball is growing too quickly, and on June 18, 1932, a real international organization was formed to organize tournaments. On that day, Argentina, Greece, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Latvia, Portugal, and Switzerland founded the International Basketball Federation (Fédération Internationale de basketball amateur, FIBA) in Geneva. The first Olympic winner was the U.S. national team, and Canada was the runner-up. And in 1950, the first world championship was held in Argentina.

The original 13 rules of the basketball game that James Naismith wrote in 1891

• The ball may be thrown with one or both hands in any direction.
• The ball may be batted with one or both hands in any direction but never with a punch.
• The player must not run with the ball in hand; they must throw the ball on the spot on which they catch it. If the player tries to stop when running at a reasonable speed, an assumption must be made for the player who catches the ball.
• The ball must be held between or in hand, and the player cannot use the arms or body to keep the ball.
• No holding, pushing, shouldering, tripping, or striking in any way of an opponent shall be allowed. Breaking this rule by any player for the first time will be counted as a foul. And the second time will be disqualified from the game until the next goal is made. And if there is any evidence of any injury of the person, then no substitute will be allowed for the whole game.
• Foul is remarked at the ball with the punch and for violating rules 3,4, and 5.
• If either side makes three consecutive fouls, it will count as a goal for the opponent (successive means making a foul without the opponents in the meantime).
• A goal will be made when the ball is batted or thrown from the grounds into the basket and stays there. Offering those defending the plan do not disturb or touch the goal. If the ball rests on the side and the opponent moves the basket, it will count as a goal.
• When the ball goes out of the boundary, it will be thrown into the court by the person who touches it first. In case of controversy, the umpire can throw the ball straight into the court or play-ground. The thrower is allowed to throw the ball within five seconds, and if he holds the ball longer, it will go to the opponent. The umpire will call as foul of a side if that side persists in delaying the game.
• The umpire will be the judge of the men and will note all the fouls. And the umpire will notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. And the umpire also has the power to disqualify men according to Rule 5.
• The referee will judge the ball, decide when the ball is in play, to which side it belongs, in bounds, and keep the time. He will decide when a goal is made and count the plan with other duties that a referee usually performs.
• The time will be two 15-minute halves, with five minutes of a break between.
• Within the decided time, the winner will be the side that will make the most goals. And in case of a draw, the game will be continued by the captains’ agreement until another goal is made.

First international games

After arriving in Europe, this basketball game developed quickly, and in 1909 the first international game was held. Two teams were played in this match, the Mayak Saint Petersburg and YMCA American team. And the Mayak Saint Petersburg beat the YMCA American team in that match.

Formation of FIBA

World basketball is growing too quickly, and on June 18, 1932, a real international organization was formed to organize tournaments. On that day, Argentina, Greece, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Latvia, Portugal, and Switzerland founded the International Basketball Federation (Fédération Internationale de basketball amateur, FIBA) in Geneva. The first Olympic winner was the U.S. national team, and Canada was the runner-up. And in 1950, the first world championship was held in Argentina.