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<\/p>\nToday, Basketball is one of the most recognized sports in the world. Nearly everyone has heard of the NBA and even a few pro league Basketball teams like the Chicago Bulls or the Los Angeles Lakers.<\/p>\n
The game has been played for over a century now, so it comes as no surprise that it\u2019s evolved to a point where professionals are making roughly a million dollars every year. But not so long ago, Basketball was a completely different sport. For starters, did you know that at one point the game was played with 9 people on each team? Here are a few more interesting facts about basketball through the ages.<\/p>\n
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A Canadian physical education teacher, James Naismith, is credited to have started Basketball way back in the 1890s. He simply wanted to find a way to keep his gym class occupied on rainy days when they couldn\u2019t go outside to exercise.<\/p>\n
When the game first came into existence, the basketball hoops were in fact peach baskets with the bottoms intact. So once someone scored a basket, the officials had to stop the match and retrieve the ball from the basket. The concept of having a net came about only in the early 1900s, probably when some bright guy decided that there were too many pauses in one game.<\/p>\n
The early basketball hoops were nailed to the balcony floor, where the spectators would sit. This posed a problem when eager fans decided to interfere with the shots made by the rival team.<\/p>\n
Ever since its inception, Basketball was played with a soccer ball and players would rub coal dust on their hands to grip the ball properly. The soccer ball also did not allow for a lot of dribbling, and players were allowed to hold the ball and move a couple of steps before stopping and tossing it into the hoop.<\/p>\n
Before 1921, if you got fouled, you could choose the best shooter in your team and have them take the free throw. It\u2019s only after the 1920s that a new rule came into play which stated that the person who got fouled must take the free throw.<\/p>\n
Earl White, Nat Clifton, and Chuck Cooper were the first African Americans to ever play professional Basketball in the NBA. They played for the Washington Capitals on the 31st of October 1950.<\/p>\n
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