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History of Basketball

Watch How Basketball began on Sports in 60

Sports in 60

How Basketball began

History of Basketball · Watch on Sports in 60

A short timeline from Sports in 60, the Hall of Fame, Springfield College, NBA.com, WNBA.com, NCAA.com, and the G League. How the leagues work has the championships and the clubs. Rules of Basketball is the way a game is played.

1891
Peach baskets in Springfield
Sports in 60’s History of Basketball film is titled Peach baskets in Springfield. Its timeline line says James Naismith nails peach baskets to a Springfield gym balcony so students can play indoors in winter, and that dribbling and cutting the bottoms out of the baskets come later.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s 1891 Gallery says that on December 21, 1891, in Springfield, Massachusetts, a physical education instructor at the Springfield International YMCA Training School nailed two peach baskets to the balcony of a gymnasium.
Springfield College says the game was invented there by instructor and graduate student James Naismith in 1891.
1892
Thirteen rules in The Triangle
Springfield College says Naismith’s original rules of basket ball were written in December 1891 and published in January 1892 in the school magazine, The Triangle.
1936
An Olympic sport
The City of Springfield’s note on the birth of basketball says Naismith was present at the first Olympic basketball game in Berlin in 1936 and threw out the opening jump ball between France and Estonia. It says the United States won the first gold medal, defeating Canada 19–8.
1939
The first NCAA tournament
NCAA.com says the first NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament was in 1939, with eight teams. Oregon beat Ohio State 46–33. The tournament was held every year after that until it was canceled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
1946
The Basketball Association of America
NBA.com’s About the NBA page says the league that would become the NBA was founded at the Commodore Hotel in New York in 1946. Maurice Podoloff was the first president. Eleven teams were in that league, then called the Basketball Association of America.
NBA.com’s original-teams note says the first BAA/NBA game was November 1, 1946: the New York Knicks beat the Toronto Huskies 68–66 at Maple Leaf Gardens.
1949
The National Basketball Association
The About the NBA page says the BAA merged with the National Basketball League in 1949 to form the modern NBA.
1996
The WNBA is approved
WNBA.com’s History page says that on April 24, 1996, the NBA Board of Governors approved the Women’s National Basketball Association, to begin play in June 1997.
1997
The first WNBA game
WNBA.com’s history timeline says the New York Liberty and the Los Angeles Sparks tipped off the first WNBA game on June 21, 1997, at the Great Western Forum. New York won 67–57.
2001
The NBA’s minor league
The NBA G League’s About page says the league started as the NBA Development League beginning with the 2001–02 season.
2017
The G League name
The same About page says that for the 2017–18 season the NBA Development League was renamed the NBA G League as part of a partnership with Gatorade, the first time a U.S. professional sports league was named an entitlement partner.
2026
An 81st NBA season, a 30th WNBA season
NBA.com’s 2026–27 schedule announcement calls that season the league’s 81st regular season, from October 20, 2026, to April 11, 2027, and names the New York Knicks as the defending NBA champion.
WNBA.com’s History page and 2026 schedule release call 2026 the WNBA’s 30th season. The field grew to 15 clubs with the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo. The Las Vegas Aces are the 2025 champion.
2027
A 76-team NCAA tournament
NCAA.com says the Division I men’s tournament expands to 76 teams for 2027. Selection Sunday is March 14. The championship game is April 5 at Ford Field in Detroit.