The Evolution of Basketball

A former manager in the food and beverage industry, Zachary Addison lives in the New Orleans area. In his free time, Zachary Addison enjoys watching Pelicans basketball games. Basketball is one of the oldest popular sports played in America, and was invented by the Canadian-American athlete and educator James Naismith at the end of 1891.

Naismith was a physical education instructor at the International Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. In the first game, held on December 1st, he used two half-bushel peach baskets as goals, which is also the explanation for the sport's name. After that, basketball became popular at the school, with the number of players varying with the playing area's size.

In addition to being popular in the US, basketball quickly spread to Canada. In 1893, it was introduced in France, and it arrived in England in 1894. Teams like the Original Celtics were formed in the first three decades of the 20th century. In 1914, when the World War I broke out, the American Expeditionary Force shared basketball wherever it went.

Basketball slowly grew in popularity during the first three decades following World War II. It was popularized by television in the 80s with the advent of cable television, where players such as Larry Bird, Julius Erving, and Earvin "Magic" Johnson achieved superstar status.