Basketball is a team sport played on a rectangular court between two teams, typically of five players. The objective is to score by shooting a ball through the opponent's hoop while preventing them from doing the same. Points are awarded based on the shot's location: two points for field goals within the three-point line and three points for those made beyond it. Free throws, worth one point each, are awarded after fouls. The team accumulating the most points by the game's end wins; tied scores lead to an overtime period.
In 1901, several colleges, including the University of Chicago, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, the University of Minnesota, the U.S. Naval Academy, the University of Colorado and Yale University, began sponsoring men's basketball games.
In 1902, Senda Berenson became the editor of A. G. Spalding's first Women's Basketball Guide. The same year women of Mount Holyoke and Sophie Newcomb College (coached by Clara Gregory Baer), began playing basketball.
On February 6, 1904, the first Canadian interuniversity basketball game was played at YMCA in Kingston, Ontario between McGill University and Queen's University. McGill won 9–7 in overtime.
In 1904, a demonstration basketball tournament was held at the Summer Olympics.
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt suggested that colleges form a governing body due to frequent injuries in football, leading to the creation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS).
In 1905, the executive committee on Basket Ball Rules (National Women's Basketball Committee) was created by the American Physical Education Association. These rules called for six to nine players per team and 11 officials.
In 1906, metal hoops with backboards replaced the peach baskets originally used in basketball. This change also allowed the ball to pass through the hoop.
In 1910, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS) changed its name to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
In 1915, the Edmonton Grads, a touring Canadian women's team based in Edmonton, Alberta, began playing.
In 1917, the National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament was established at the University of Chicago. It was organized by Amos Alonzo Stagg and invited state champion teams.
In 1924, the International Women's Sports Federation included a women's basketball competition.
In 1924, the National Catholic Interscholastic Basketball Tournament began at Loyola University.
By 1925, 37 women's high school varsity basketball or state tournaments were held.
In 1926, the Amateur Athletic Union backed the first national women's basketball championship, complete with men's rules.
In 1928, the Edmonton Grads won one of four consecutive exhibition Olympics tournaments.
In 1929, the National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament for Black High Schools was held at Hampton Institute.
In 1929, the National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament had grown to include 29 state champion teams.
In 1929, the first women's AAU All-America team was chosen.
In 1930, the last National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament was held due to opposition from the National Federation of State High School Associations and North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
In 1932, the Edmonton Grads won one of four consecutive exhibition Olympics tournaments.
In 1936, men's basketball was first included at the Berlin Summer Olympics. The United States defeated Canada in the final.
In 1936, the Edmonton Grads won one of four consecutive exhibition Olympics tournaments.
In 1937, the first men's national championship tournament, the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball tournament, was organized. This tournament still exists today as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) tournament.
By 1938, the women's national championship changed from a three-court game to two-court game with six players per team.
In 1938, the first national championship for NCAA teams, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in New York, was organized.
In 1940, the Edmonton Grads, a touring Canadian women's team based in Edmonton, Alberta, ended.
In 1941, the National Catholic Interscholastic Basketball Tournament ended, and the National Invitational Interscholastic Basketball Tournament was held starting out at Tuskegee Institute.
In 1942, the last National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament for Black High Schools was held at Hampton Institute.
On November 1, 1946, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) played its first game in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between the Toronto Huskies and New York Knickerbockers.
From 1948, college basketball was impacted by gambling scandals, where dozens of players from top teams were implicated in game-fixing and point shaving.
In 1949, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to form the National Basketball Association (NBA).
In 1950, the first FIBA World Championship for men, now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, was held in Argentina.
In 1951, college basketball gambling scandals continued, further damaging the reputation of the sport.
In 1954, the National Catholic Invitational Basketball Tournament began and was played at a series of venues, including Catholic University, Georgetown and George Mason. Also, Brown v. Board of Education began an integration of schools.
In 1959, a basketball hall of fame was founded in Springfield, Massachusetts, the site of the first basketball game.
In 1964, the National Invitational Interscholastic Basketball Tournament was held at Alabama State College.
In 1967, the American Basketball Association (ABA) emerged, briefly threatening the NBA's dominance.
In 1967, the last National Invitational Interscholastic Basketball Tournament was held at Alabama State College.
In 1972, the United States lost to the Soviet Union in a controversial final game in Munich, where the ending was replayed multiple times.
On April 9, 1975, the Philippine Basketball Association played its first game at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines.
In 1976, the ABA and NBA merged, consolidating professional basketball.
In 1976, women's basketball became an official Olympic sport.
In 1976, women's basketball was added to the Olympics, which were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
In 1978, the National Catholic Invitational Basketball Tournament ended.
In 1979, the NBL (Australia's pre-eminent men's professional basketball league) commenced.
In 1981, the Women's National Basketball League began.
In 1989, FIBA allowed professional NBA players to participate in the Olympics for the first time.
Prior to the 1992 Summer Olympics, only European and South American teams were allowed to field professionals in the Olympics. The United States introduced the original Dream Team, continuing their dominance.
The American Basketball League (ABL) operated from 1996 to 1998 before folding due to the popularity of the WNBA.
In 1997, the NBA-backed Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) began.
In 1998, the NBL shifted to the current summer season format (October–April) to avoid competing directly against Australia's various football codes.
In 2001, the NBA formed a developmental league, the National Basketball Development League, later known as the NBA D-League and then the NBA G League.
In the 2004 Athens Olympics, the United States suffered its first Olympic loss while using professional players, falling to Puerto Rico and Lithuania in group games, and being eliminated in the semifinals by Argentina.
In early 2006, James Naismith's handwritten diaries were discovered by his granddaughter. The diaries revealed Naismith's nervousness about the new game he invented.
In June 2007, the WNBA signed a contract extension with ESPN from 2009 to 2016, which included first-ever rights fees to be paid to a women's professional sports league.
In 2007, 3x3 basketball was first tested at the Asian Indoor Games in Macau.
The Redeem Team won gold at the 2008 Olympics.
On March 12, 2009, NBA commissioner David Stern stated that the NBA was less profitable than the WNBA.
In 2009, the first official 3x3 tournaments were held at the Asian Youth Games in Singapore.
The B-Team won gold at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey, despite featuring no players from the 2008 squad.
In 2011, the first FIBA 3x3 Youth World Championships were held in Rimini, Italy.
The United States continued its dominance as they won gold at the 2012 Olympics.
The United States continued its dominance as they won gold at the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
In 2016, the ESPN contract extension that was signed in June 2007 concluded.
In 2016, the sport was highly tipped to become an Olympic sport.
In the 2016–17 season, 980,673 boys and girls represented their schools in interscholastic basketball competition, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
The United States continued its dominance as they won gold at the 2016 Olympics.
In the summer of 2017, the BIG3 basketball league, a professional 3x3 half court basketball league that features former NBA players, began.
Since the 2019–20 NBA season heights of NBA players are recorded definitively by measuring players with their shoes off.
As of the 2023–24 season, the NBA G League has 31 teams.
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