The Center Jump Disappears
1937 to 1938 season. No more jump ball after every basket
For the first 46 years of basketball, every made basket was followed by a jump ball at center court. Players walked back to the middle, the referee tossed the ball up, and the tallest jumper usually won possession again.
All that walking took a lot of time, about 8 to 10 minutes per game by some estimates. Teams with one very tall center could control the ball almost the whole game.
For the 1937 to 1938 college season, the rules changed. After a made basket, the team that had been scored on now inbounded the ball from under the basket. Years later, the chairman of the rules committee called it the most radical change in the history of the game.
What changed
Basketball suddenly had transition. Teams could inbound quickly and run before the defense was set, so the fast break was born, scoring went up and smaller, quicker teams could compete with tall ones.