Did you know that the very first hoops were just simple peach baskets and that the first backboards were made of wire? Surprisingly, in 1972, college basketball was only televised regionally. Interestingly, Walt Fraizer was the first player to get paid for certain shoes!! Since the days of peach baskets, basketball has come a long way in rules, teams, its history and the NBA. Basketball was invented in 1891 by a man named James Naismith and the first game was played in December 1891. Basketball was named an Olympic sport in 1936. Two leagues called National Basketball League (NBL) and Basketball Association of America (BAA) merged after the 1948-49 season to become today's National Basketball Association (NBA). The NBA was established in 1949. The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a 10-team rival league to the NBA that began play during the 1967-68 season, but unfortunately folded nine years later. late, during the 1975-76 season. Four current NBA teams, the Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, hail from the ABA. The NBA created the three-point game before the years 1979-80 by borrowing the idea from the ABA. Basketball originated in the United States, but is now played around the world by both men and women. To be able to have a basketball story, you have to have rules. The first formal rules were established in 1892. The sport is played by two teams of five (plus substitutes), usually indoors. The land can be up to 91 feet long and 49 feet wide. At each end is a panel on which a bottomless net hangs from a hoop 10 feet above the ground. Basketball is played on a rectangular floor called a court. The pitch is divided into two main sections by the center line. The American standard pitch measures 94 ft/28.7 m at the middle of paper and was awarded in 1984 by Wooden.Works CitedDigger, Phelps and John Walters. Basketball for dummies. Foster City, CA: IDG Book Worldwide, 1997. Elliott, Stephen P., ed. "Basketball." Webster's New World Encyclopedia. New York [au: Helicon, 1993. 109-10."Fact Monster™ from Information Please ®." Fact Monster: online almanac, dictionary, encyclopedia and homework help. 2000-2013. Pearson Education. November 12, 2013. Giacomeli, Paul. “The rules”. Revolutionary basketball. November 6, 2013. Lazenby, Roland. The NBA Finals: The Official Illustrated History. Dallas, TX: Taylor Pub. Co., 1990. London, Steve L. "Basketball". Illustrated encyclopedia in one volume. New York: Oxford UP, 1997. 70. “Teams.” NBA.com. November 6. 2013 .