The NBA

            
             The first basketball game was played at the school for Christian Workers in Springfield, Massachusetts, on December 21, 1891. When basketball was invented by James Naismith it was intended as a form of exercise not a sport. It was a low scoring game where there were 9 players to a side and they shot a ball at a peach basket. It did not have an opening at the bottom and they had to climb a ladder to retrieve the ball. Although it was not invented until 1891. Another similar game using a ball and a basket previously existed. Ollamalitzli was played with a rubber ball and a stone ring by the Aztecs in the 16th century. The player who scored was entitled to the clothing of the spectators. Players on the opposing side were less fortunate because the captain of the losing team had his head cut off. .
             Senda Berenson Abbott, a PE director at Smith College learned of Naismiths game and decided to add it to her curriculum The first women collegiate game was played in 1893 men were not allowed to view it for fear that they would become titillated at the sight of women in Bloomers.
             Ch. 2 The Evolution of the Game.
             When basketball first began it was a low scoring game, there was no shot clock and players could easily win the game 2-0. This was called the keep away strategy but when the shot clock was invented basketball really took off, here are a list of other changes that shaped basketball to what it is today. There were 13 rules to the game. Many of them are still used today such as the prohibition of running with the ball, how points are scored, and the calling of fouls by officials. Several however have been eliminated over the years. Such as if the team is tied at the end of regulation time, the game became a sudden death overtime and the first team to score would win. In 1895 the backboard was introduced, in 1896 scoring rules were changed reducing field goals to 2 points and free throws to 1.