Basketball is among the top 3 sports in the world, and even though the NBA is the biggest basketball league in the world, there are other leagues, tournaments, and important moments that happen in basketball.
Going by this, the history of basketball games is littered with many important moments that have shaped the sport in the U.S. and the global basketball world. We will look at some of these moments, which also shaped some of the bookie’s sports betting markets or offers for this sport.
Important Moments in the History of Basketball
The moments below are mostly focused on the U.S., which is understandable because this is where the sport originated from. Without wasting further time, here they are:
- 1891 – The first basketball was made by AC Spalding & Brothers, from Chicopee Falls (Massachusetts), still in 1891, and its diameter was slightly larger than that of a football.
- 1891 – The first bottomless baskets were designed by Lew Allen of Connecticut in 1891 and consisted of wooden cylinders with metal edges.
- 1892 – The 1st game was played publically between teachers and students on March 11, 1892. The students beat the teachers by 5 – 1. Earlier, on the 20th of January, a game was played but only between ACM employees with two teams of 9 players each, where a soccer ball and baskets of peaches were played 3.048 m above the ground.
- 1893 – The Narragansett Machine & Co. had the idea of making a metallic ring with a hammock hanging from it, which had the bottom tied with a rope but could be opened by simply pulling the latter. Soon after, such a rope was abolished, and the ball began to fall freely after the baskets were converted.
- 1893 – The 1st Women’s Game was played on March 22, 1893. No men were allowed to watch the game.
- 1894 – The first basketball was produced. Until then, the modality was played with a soccer ball. The producer was The Company in Chicopee Falls of Springfield, Massachusetts.
- 1895 – Tables were officially introduced.
- 1906 – Introduced the use of hoops with open nets.
- 1907 – 5 players per team.
- 1908 – Player excluded after 5 fouls.
- 1913 – Basketball was introduced and played in Europe in 1893 in France. The game took place at the YMCA located in Paris.
- 1919- 1st International Tournament was played in 1919.
- 1936- Olympic modality, integrated into the program of the XI Olympic Games held in Berlin, after 1930 having been considered an Olympic modality. The first Champions were the United States.
- 1936- Introduced the three-second rule.
- 1950 – In Argentina, the 1st World Championship was played. 1st Argentina, 2nd USA, 3rd Chile.
- 1951 – The 1st All-Star Game is played.
- 1976 – Women’s basketball becomes part of the Olympic sports.
- 1987 – The playoffs are instituted.
- 1999 – 15 to 25 July 1999 – The FPB organizes the 6th Junior Men’s World Championship, held in the cities of Porto, Almada, Aveiro, Faro, and Lisbon – culminating in the record presence of more than 12,000 people at the Pavilhão Atlântico for watch the final, where Spain beat the USA.
- 1999 – November, Paulo Pinto, then an FC Porto player, was elected by FIBA as one of the 50 best players in Europe and, as such, included in the list of candidates to join the EURO ALL STAR western team.
Conclusion
Basketball is an exciting and lovely game to watch, even for non-basketball fans. This is one of the reasons why the game has spread so fast and wide globally. The sport has undergone many changes over the years, and we are glad to have brought you some of these changes you might not have been aware of.
