Storyline: Basketball epitomizes style and swag. People identify with the game, not only in the U.S, but elsewhere in the Americas, Canada, Europe, China, Australia, and Middle East. Kids play. There are pro leagues everywhere. Written by Juan Medina, Colombia.
Basketball is a great sport, like no other.
The game was born in 1891 in Massachusetts, created by a religious physical education teacher, James Nasmith. The game became popular and accepted by Americans, largely because it was not as physical (and dangerous) as football.
At first only 13 rules existed. Number 1: “The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.” Number 13:”The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winners.”
The game grew and, by 1946, the National Basketball Association (NBA) was created, first named The Basketball Association of America (BAA).
1947 Philadelphia Warriors (photo, nba.com)
The first team to win the title was the Philadelphia Warriors. The Warriors beat the Chicago Stags, 4-1, in 1947. The most recent champion (2015) is Golden State, winning against the Cleveland Cavaliers, 4-2. The team with most championships is the Boston Celtics with 17, the last time in 2008 against the LA Lakers. Los Angeles has 16 championship, the last in 2010.
The greatest players, by era, include Max Zaslofsky (1946-50), who played for the Stags and scored over 7,900 points during his career. Bob Cousy, “Mr. Basketball,” played for the Celtics, and was on the NBA all-star team 10 years in a row. The Celtics won the championship 6 times during that span. Bill Russell, also played for the Celtics, and won the championship 11 times (’57, ’59, ’60, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’68, and ’69). He was the NBA MVP 5 times (’58, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’65) and was an Olympic Gold Medalist in ’56.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Lakers was NBA champion 6 times (’71, ’80, ’82, ’85, ’87, ’88), an NBA MVP 6 times (’71, ’72, ’74, ’76, ’77, ’80), and scored the most points in NBA history (38,387). He had one of the most deadly moves in the game, the ‘sky-hook.’ Magic Johnson, also of the Lakers, was one of the flashiest passers of all time. He won 5 titles and was NBA MVP 3 times (’87, ‘ 89, ’90).
Courtesy: CBS Sports
Michael Jordan is perhaps the best player in NBA history. He’s a six-time NBA champion (’91-93, ’96-98), a five-time NBA MVP (’88, ’91, ’92, ’96, ’98), and a 10-time All-NBA First Team pick (’87-93, ’96-98). He was also Rookie of the Year (1985), a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist (’84, ’92) and scored 32,292 points during his career.
Kobe Bryant was known as “The Black Mamba.” He’s a 5-time NBA champion with the Lakers (’00-02, ’09-10), a two-time Finals MVP (’09, 10), the NBA MVP (2008), an 11-time all-NBA first team member, and scored over 33,000 points during his career.
LeBron James is “The King.” He is a 2-time NBA champion with Miami (’12, ’13) and now plays for Cleveland. He was Rookie of the Year (2004), 2-time Finals MVP (’12, ’13), 4-time NBA MVP (’09, ’10, ’12, ’13), and has scored about 27,000 points so far in his career. He also won two Olympic Gold Medals (’08, ’12).
Basketball is played all over the world (GettyImages)
Over the years basketball has become more than a sport. It is a way of living, a cultural identification, especially in the U.S. It is definitively connected to African-American culture because so many of the stars are African-American. There is style and swag to the game, epitomized by Michael Jordan and his basketball shoes.
But basketball is more than an American sport. People identify with basketball all over the world–in Latin America, South America, Canada, Europe, Australia, China, and the Middle East.
Kids play it everywhere. There are pro leagues everywhere.
There’s really no other sport like basketball.
************
Sources:
© 2016 NBA Media Ventures LLC
© 2016 ESPN Internet Ventures
© 2000-2016 Sports Reference LLC
© 1990–2016 TicketCity.
