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The Ball
The first basketball games were played with soccer balls. However, they proved to be unsuitable for dribbling and ball handling. The first manufactured basketballs were produced in 1894 by a bicycle manufacturing company. In the late 1890's Spalding took over as the official ball maker. -
Scoring
a successful goal was counted as one point, and one point was also given to a team anytime three consecutive fouls were called on the opponent. Free throws were first introduced in 1894. Both a made field goal and a made free throw were counted as one goal. In 1896, rules were changed to count a made field goal as two points. -
Free throws
When free throws were introduced in 1894 the free throw line was established at 21 feet from the basket. Anyone could shoot the free throws. This resulted in teams deploying specialized free throw shooters. A year later, in 1895, the free throw line was moved closer, to a distance of fifteen feet from the basket. -
Backboards
backboards were introduced in 1895 to prevent spectators in the balconies from interfering with play. Wood replaced the easily dented wire mesh backboards in 1904, and plate glass backboard usage was approved in 1909. Backboards were mounted flat against walls. In 1916 to prevent players from running up the walls for easy lay-ups, a two foot gap was between the backboard and the endline was required -
team size
The idea was that the game could be played by any number of players. However, that did not work out. After experimenting with teams up to 50 players. -
Timing
The first games were played in two fifteen minute halves. Shortly later this was increased to two 20-minutes halves. There was no provision for extending the game if the score was tied. -
The high average
In the 1950s, the average height of an NBA player was around 6 ft 4, which is still taller than the average person. Jump to 2010s, and the average height has soared to 6 ft 7 -
the Shot Clock
In 1954 the NBA instituted a 24-second shot clock. This was another milestone for basketball since it eliminated the common stalling tactics that were being deployed, sometimes as early as the third period, by teams' ahead in the game because there was no way for the team behind to catch up other than to foul. -
Substitutions
players were not allowed to re-enter the game. The rule was changed in 1920 to allow a player to re-enter the game one time. In 1934, the rule was expanded to allow players to re-enter the game twice, and, in 1945 the rule was finally changed to permit players to return to the game an unlimited number of times. -
the smallest player in the 1990
in the 90s Allen Iverson was a short guy in the land of the giants. At 6’0” he was the shortest player ever to win the MVP award.
