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The Start
Up until 1920 basketball wasn’t much, the goal was as simple as trying to land a ball in a peach basket however you want, as far as attire went for the players at this time, they just wore baggy trousers and wool undershirts. -
Substitution Upgrade
Substituting received an upgrade, before this if a player were to leave the game they would be unable to come back into the game, but this improvement made it so a player could come back once but no more. -
Roster Requirements
Basketball made a new rule that required teams to have a minimum of 6 players on the roster, this was a big step in basketball because as the starting 5 players get fatigues the guys coming off the bench can have a big impact on the game. -
Traveling Change
Prior to this point a travel was counted as a foul which obviously could get a player disqualified if performed enough times, so they ended up changing the travel to a violation which means it does not count as a foul. -
Free Throw Change
Before this point when a player was fouled anyone on the team could shoot the free throw which allowed teams to just get a free throw specialist to shoot them, but then they changed the rule so that the player fouled had to shoot the free throw. -
Numbered Jersey's
It wasn’t until thirty- six years after basketball was invented that players were required to wear numbers on the back of their jerseys, which is something today that a player basically becomes known by. -
The Harlem Globe Trotters
The Harlem Globe Trotters played their first game, they are worldwide icons that provide great family entertainment and along with basketball skills that you don’t typically see in the NBA because of how crazy the skills are. -
Officiating Rule Book
Officiating can have a huge effect on any basketball game and is very important but it wasn’t until many years after the game was created that a rule book for officiating techniques was made. -
2 Point Field Goals
Prior to this update, all field goals (shots) counted as a single point, then they took a step towards today’s game by making all field goals count as two points (no three- point line at the time). -
Mid-Court
The mid-court line was brought about which prevented teams from using the entire court to pass and dribble the ball around, which in return created a lot of spacing and low scoring games. -
Chain- Link Fence Removed
They got rid of the chain- link fence that surrounded the basketball court that was used to prevent out of bounds delays but it ended up not working out as players would end up checking each other into the fence and it was just a safety hazard at that point. -
10 Second Rule
The ten second rule was established, it required teams to get the ball past half court within a span of ten seconds, so it sped up the pace and caused teams to play with some more urgency when taking the ball up the court. -
Another Substitution Upgrade
Substituting received yet another upgrade, a step forward from allowing a player to come back into the game once, they could now come back on two different occasions, still far from today’s rule. -
Jump Ball For Possesion
Following each basket there would be a jump ball to decide the next possession which ultimately just slowed down the game and gave the advantage to the team that had a taller or more athletic player to do the jump for them after every basket. -
Backboard Move
The distance from the backboard to the wall was increased to four feet, before this, players were able to run up the walls and complete easy layups, so the distance was increased for players to have more space underneath the basket. -
Clothing Upgrade
From 1920 to 1940 the attire evolved slightly but nothing close to today, trousers and long wool shirts, and jerseys were made more breathable with a more comfortable design, so things start to get better for the players. -
Goal-Tending
Goal-tending was made to prevent players from standing in front the basket and swatting shots out of the air, this rule was made for Bob Kurland and George Mikan who would just swat practically every shot attempt out of the air. -
Foul Limit Change
The amount of fouls before disqualification was increased from four fouls to five fouls, this allowed players to be able to be less conservative and play more aggressive because they could commit more fouls before being disqualified. -
One Last Substitution Upgrade
One final upgrade was made to substitution, players could finally leave and re- enter the game as many times they or their coach wanted them to, it became unlimited and it still is today. -
Jump Shot
The first ever jump shot by a professional player was performed by Kenny Sailors, it is basically everything in the NBA today, without it there are no three pointers or mid- range shots, which are two things that are such a huge part of the NBA today. -
1st BAA Game
The first game in the Basketball Association of America, later known as the NBA, was played, it featured the New York Knickerbockers and the Toronto Huskies and tickets ranged from $.75 to $2.50 and more than seven thousand fans watched the game. -
Game Coaching
Coaching during the game was allowed, before this point coaches couldn’t coach their team during play and not even during a timeout, the only time the coach could actually coach was during halftime up to this point. -
NBA
The Basketball Association of America merged with the National Basketball League to finally form the National Basketball Association also known as the NBA, there were originally only eleven teams in the NBA while today there is thirty of them. -
Overtime
No one likes it when a competition ends in a tie, so basketball came up with the concept of overtime for the sport, if the teams were tied at the end of regulation they would enter an overtime period, if the game was still undecided the teams went to sudden death. -
World Competition
Basketball becomes international, the first basketball world championships were played and the United States won gold, which isn’t too different compared to today as far as the winner goes. -
3 Second Violation
The three second violation was created which prevented offensive players from standing in the painted area for more than three seconds at a time, this just cleaned things up and spread things out a little bit more. -
Offensive Basket Interference
Offensive basket interference was established, this prevented players to guide shots into the basket before they come back down or bounce out and away from the basket, it was made for Bill Russell who used to use two hands to guide his teammates shots into the basket. -
First Energy Drink
Taisho Pharmaceuticals makes the first energy drink, so a drink that was made to increase energy, it contains a mix of essential vitamins, taurine, and niacin, this was the first energy drink of many to come. -
Uniform Upgrade
From 1960 to 1988, the uniforms transform into something that players now look at as something they would not want to wear, the uniforms get tighter, socks get longer, and headbands come around to keep hair back. -
100 Point Game
March 2nd 1962 Wilt Chamberlain scored exactly one hundred points in a single game, there is no video of the performance but Chamberlain’s record stands to this day, in fact the closest performance to Chamberlain’s was an eighty- one- point game. -
Gatorade
Gatorade was invented, it was a thirst quencher contains water, sucrose, dextrose, citric acid, natural flavor, sodium chloride, sodium citrate, monopotassium, phosphate, and flavoring ingredients, this was popular among athletes because it was a healthy choice during big games that took a lot of energy. -
Continuous Unlimited Dribbling
Probably the most performed act in basketball is dribbling, before 1966 it went from not being able to dribble at all to only being able to bounce the ball once, until finally in 1966 continuous unlimited dribbling becomes a rule. -
No Dunking Rule
The no dunking rule was established in college basketball, it was made to stop basket damage and injury, it was aimed at Lew Alcindor, also known as Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and is also known as the Lew Alcindor rule. -
Shot Clock
Five player a team, full court, thirty second shot clock games become official, this made games go at a faster pace since teams had to shoot before the shot clock expired or else it would be a turnover. -
Quadruple Double
Nate Thurmond achieved the NBA’s first quadruple double, a triple double is usually a huge accomplishment in itself but Thurmond took it a step further, scoring 22 points, getting 14 rebounds, 13 assists, and 12 blocks, only three other players have completed a quadruple double performance. -
Dunking Allowed
College basketball made dunking allowed in the game of basketball once again, it is one of the most exciting plays in basketball and with comes all sorts of things such as the slam dunk contest which is a huge event for the NBA that occurs every year. -
Women's Professional Basketball League
The women’s professional basketball league is formed, expanding the game of basketball in many ways, when the league is first created there are just eight teams but since then it has expanded drastically. -
3- Point Line (NBA)
The three- point line was introduced to the National Basketball Association changing the game of basketball, giving teams a chance to score more points in a game and a new style of basketball to play. -
Alternating Possession
They replaced the jump ball after every possession with alternating possessions, so after a team scored the other team would just take the ball out of bounds, pass the ball in, and they would have possession, making things more even. -
U.S. Gold Metal
The United States of America captures its first Olympic Gold Metal which was just the beginning of many more gold metals to come for the U.S. in basketball. -
3- Point Line (College)
The three- point field goal was introduced to the college basketball world, it allows teams to score more points in a shorter amount of time essentially, and it ended up spacing the floor much more. -
Red Bull
Red bull is invented by Dietrich Mateschitzt, it used caffeine and sugar so it wasn’t a good choice for use among athletes especially before a game because sugar and caffeine doesn’t exactly go well with a big workout. -
Another Uniform Upgrade
1988 to 2012 basketball uniforms start taking their shape, not only was Michael Jordan the best player in NBA history but he also made an update to the game that made it better for everyone, he ultimately got the length of shorts increased because he simply wanted something to hang on to. -
The Dream Team
In 1991 possibly the best basketball team of all time was formed to compete in the 1992 Olympic games, the team consisted of multiple NBA legends and with that, they earned the title: “The Dream Team”. -
Increased Views
The NBA signed a contract with Turner sports to allow them to broadcast their games for an extended period of time, this allowed the sport to continue to grow with increasing amounts of viewers. -
Jordan Retirement
The greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan retired from the game leaving his mark, winning three consecutive championships with the Bulls and becoming an icon of an NBA player, but he eventually made a return. -
NBA Expansion
The league expanded not only from America but to Canada as well, the NBA board of governors awarded the city of Toronto its own franchise, expanding the NBA in multiple aspects, including a 28th team. -
Jordan's Return
Michael Jordan made his return to basketball and the Chicago Bulls, he lost his first game back and scored nineteen points but if his past was any indication of his future he wasn’t going to give up and he didn’t. -
8 Second Rule
The ten second rule was reduced and it became the eight second rule, basically the same as the ten second rule but it made things a little faster and made players speed up a little bit more when trying to get the ball past mid-court. -
Triple Double Record
Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder breaks the record for amount of triple doubles in a season, passing Oscar Robertson’s margin of 41, Westbrook finished the regular season with exactly 42 triple doubles.
