The spectacular nature of the NBA finals has nothing to do with the modest origins of the history of basketball, a discipline that has been almost 120 years since its invention. It was in 1891, in a cold winter in Springfield, Massachusetts, that this sport began to come to life, as a way out of the prevailing low temperatures that prevented outdoor sports.
Baskets for fruit were the first hoops that were played in a basketball game. In the image, James Naismith, inventor of this sport. Source
The history of basketball goes back to when this sport was invented in the United States, although its creator is Canadian: It is the Physical Education teacher James Naismith, who took on the challenge of giving life to a discipline that was based more on the dexterity than contact and physical strength, which are two of the main variants of favorite American sports.
Under the direction of Luther Gulick, who was in charge of Physical Education at the School of Christian Workers, Naismith was entrusted to give life within 14 days to an athletic activity that allowed young people to distract themselves from the ferocity of winter in New England.
This is how Naismith began to write the history of basketball and devised a game consisting of making a ball fall - the first games were played with soccer balls - on baskets hung in height.
Versions on the history of basketball differ with regard to whether they were baskets for picking apples or peaches, but they agree that these were fruit baskets and that, each time the ball fell inside, the players had to stop the game to get it out and continue with the game.
The fruit baskets were nailed to a height of 10 feet (3.05 meters), which is the same as the hoops of professional basketball are located today, according to the rules of the FIBA, which is the world entity that regulates to basketball.
To start the game, the first exponents of basketball history were divided into two teams, and as there were 18 participants, each team was made up of 9 members: 3 in the defense, 3 in the center and 3 in the lead.
According to the background of the history of basketball, the creator of the game devised 13 rules that differ a lot from the current ones, but that in his spirit sought to avoid physical friction and favor dexterity with the ball. "It is not allowed to shoulder load, grab, push, hit or trick an opponent. The first violation of this rule by any person will count as a fault, the second will disqualify him until a basket is achieved, or, if there is an obvious intention to cause an injury, during the rest of the game. The replacement of the offender will not be allowed, "said one of those rules.
The first basketball team in history: Positions at the Christian Workers School in Springfield, Massachusetts Source
The 13 original rules of basketball were published on December 15, 1892 in The Triangle, the newspaper of Springfield College, which began to extend the practice of the sport. However, its evolution to the way we know it today took a long time. As an example, the current orange ball was newly introduced in the 50's.
The passage of time has seen this sport advance, and the NBA finals - the highest point of all the leagues that are played in the world - was another example of the place that basketball occupies in preferences worldwide. The history of basketball is still written.
