Basketball history
An interactive timeline of basketball history: men's, women's and international stories, and how each one changed the way the game is played.
The Invention
- Naismith Invents Basketball (December 1891): Two peach baskets and 13 rules
- Senda Berenson Brings the Game to Women (March 1893): The first women's college game at Smith College
- The Game Sails to Asia (1895 to 1913): Missionaries take basketball to China, Japan and the Philippines
- The Edmonton Grads (1915 to 1940): A high school team that won 96% of its games for 25 years
The Game Goes Global
- FIBA Is Founded (June 1932): Eight nations create a world governing body
- Olympic Debut in the Mud (August 1936): Berlin 1936: a final played in the rain
- Hank Luisetti's One-Handed Shot (December 1936): Stanford brings a new way to shoot to Madison Square Garden
- The Center Jump Disappears (1937 to 1938 season): No more jump ball after every basket
- George Mikan Changes the Rulebook (1944 to 1951): Goaltending is banned and the lane is doubled
- The First Women's World Championship (March 1953): Santiago 1953, played outdoors in a packed stadium
The Clock Starts Ticking
- The 24-Second Shot Clock (1954 to 1955 season): Danny Biasone saves the NBA from stalling
- Russell and the Celtics Fast Break (1957 to 1969): 11 titles in 13 seasons, built on defense
- Wheelchair Basketball at the First Paralympics (September 1960): Rome 1960, then the women's debut in Tel Aviv 1968
- Wooden's UCLA and the Zone Press (1964 to 1975): An undersized team presses its way to a dynasty
- Texas Western's Historic Title (March 1966): The first all-Black starting five to win the NCAA final
- The Flex Offense Is Born (1967): Rene Herrerias designs a system of constant motion
- Women Get the Full Court (1971 to 1972 season): Five players, a 30-second clock and the end of the split court
- Title IX Opens the Door (June 1972): A US law that changed girls' and women's basketball
- Three Seconds in Munich (September 1972): The most disputed ending in Olympic history
- Women's Basketball Joins the Olympics (July 1976): Montreal 1976 and the dominance of Uljana Semjonova
- Lusia Harris, the Queen of Basketball (1975 to 1977): The first Olympic basket and an NBA draft pick
The Arc Arrives
- The Three-Point Line Arrives (1979 (NBA), 1984 (FIBA)): From an experiment to the shot that runs the game
- Hakeem Olajuwon, From Lagos to MVP (1984 to 1995): A former goalkeeper rewrites post play
- Stockton and Malone Perfect the Pick and Roll (1985 to 2003): 18 seasons of the same two-man game
- The Four Corners and the College Shot Clock (1982 to 1986): A famous stall forces the NCAA to start the clock
- Tex Winter's Triangle Offense (1991 to 1998): The system behind six Bulls titles
The World Catches Up
- The Dream Team (July to August 1992): NBA stars go to the Olympics and the whole world tunes in
- The WNBA Tips Off (1996 to 1997): A professional league built on the 1996 Olympic team
- The NBA Allows the Zone (2001 to 2002 season): Illegal defense rules are scrapped
- Yao Ming Goes First (June 2002): From the Shanghai Sharks to the top of the NBA draft
- Argentina's Golden Generation (2002 to 2004): Beating the NBA stars, then winning Olympic gold
- Seven Seconds or Less (2004 to 2008): D'Antoni and Nash push the pace in Phoenix
Pace and Space
- Ray Allen's Corner Three (June 2013): Bosh's rebound and Allen's shot save Miami's season
- The Spurs' Beautiful Game (June 2014): A worldwide roster passes Miami apart
- The Warriors Go Small (June 2015 onward): Draymond Green at center and the three-point boom
- The Basketball Africa League Tips Off (May 2021): The NBA's first league outside North America
- 3x3 Becomes an Olympic Sport (July 2021): Tokyo 2020, played in 2021
- The Center Who Runs the Offense (June 2023): Nikola Jokić, the 41st pick, passes Denver to its first title