From its inception as a league in 1949, the National Basketball Association (NBA) had grown from a small league garnering little interests from the American public to a global juggernaut responsible for making basketball into the fastest growing sport in the world! The history of the NBA is filled with remarkable stories and captivating characters. Starting as a league featuring 8 teams to its current 30 teams. From the first superstar, center George Mikan of the Minneapolis Lakers, to its current star, Chinese center Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets.


Here at My Blog, i realize that true fans appreciate the history and evolution of the game in the world’s greatest basketball league. That is why we are devoting a special segment documenting the History of the NBA, highlighting significant changes, moments, and players of the game. Our special segments trace the dynasties of the Minneapolis Lakers, Boston Celtics, and Chicago Bulls, as well as recording the significance of such great players and ambassadors of the game from George Mikan, Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, and Shaquille O’Neal.


To fully appreciate the NBA as it is now, it is important to recognize the history that has allowed it to achieve the status it maintains today. You will see that the NBA was as exciting back then as it is now!

Basketball was invented in December 1891 by the Canadian clergyman, educator, and, later, physician James Naismith, then an instructor at the Young Men's Christian Association Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Mass. Naismith formulated the game on the request of his superior, Dr. Luther H. Gulick (1865-1918), that he organize a vigorous recreation suitable for indoor winter play. The game took over elements of football, soccer, and hockey, and the first ball used was a soccer ball. Teams had nine players, and the goals were wooden peach baskets affixed to the walls. By 1897-98, teams of five became standard. The game rapidly spread nationwide and to Canada and other parts of the world, played by both women and men; it also became a popular informal outdoor game. U.S. servicemen in World War II popularized the sport in many other Country.

Many U.S. colleges adopted the game between about 1893 and 1895. In 1934 college games were staged in New York City's Madison Square Garden for the first time, and college basketball began to attract much interest. By the 1950s it had become a major college sport, thus paving the way for a growth of interest in professional basketball.

The first pro basketball league, the National League, was formed in 1898 to protect players from exploitation and to promote a less rough game. One of the first and greatest pro teams was the Original Celtics, organized about 1915 in New York City. They played as many as 150 games a season and dominated basketball in the 1920s. The Harlem Globetrotters, founded in 1927, a notable exhibition team, specializes in amusing court antics and expert ballhandling.

In 1959 the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame was founded in Springfield, Mass. Its rosters include the names of great players, coaches, referees, and others who have contributed significantly to the development of the game. See Basketball Hall of Fame, Naismith Memorial.

By the 1960s pro teams from coast to coast played before crowds of millions annually. Since the 1980s the NBA has become one of the most popular sports organizations in the world, due in part to the marketability of a number of high-profile star players.