The Road to the Hardwood: The Making of Professional Basketball

Imagine the game of basketball without the slam dunk showcase, celebrity players and flashy entertainment value we've come to expect. That's how the game began in 1891, New England. Two teams, two peach baskets and 13 rules. James Naismith, a physical education teacher at the School for Christian Workers in Springfield, Massachusetts created an indoor game to "provide an athletic distraction for a rowdy class, through brutal New England winters," and is to this day, credited for creating the game of basketball. Naismith asked the janitor to find two boxes to fasten to the balcony railings at either end of the gymnasium, but all the janitor could find were two peach baskets. In the original 13 rules, the ball, made of leather panels stitched together with a rubber bladder inside, could be batted but not dribbled because players could not move with the ball. In 1896, as a result of a dispute between a YMCA official and YMCA members, in Trenton, NJ, a professional team was formed to play for money. Two years later a group of New Jersey newspaper sports editors founded the National Basketball League, consisting of six franchises from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. During this time, the Buffalo Germans and the original Celtics were standout teams in the league. The Germans won 111 straight games between 1908 and 1911, and the Celtics pioneered many of the game's tactics that are still used today, such as zone defense. The American Basketball League (ABL) was the first successful professional league, running from1925 to 1931. Teams made up of all black players, like the New York Renaissance and the Harlem Globetrotters, dominated the league in the 1930's. By the mid 1930's another professional league called the National Basketball League, which had taken its name from the earlier league that had folded a few years earlier, started to make a name for itself. In 1946, a group of executives got together to form another league called the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which ended up persuading most of the teams from the NBL to join them. By the 1949- 1950 season the remaining six teams in the NBL moved to the BAA, forming three divisions, and renaming themselves the National Basketball Association (NBA). Following that season, the NBA reduced its size and established two divisions- the beginning of the eastern and western conferences, which were later established in the 1969- 1970 season. Red Auerbach's Celtics from Boston were the team to beat from 1957 to 1969, when they dominated the league, winning 11 NBA titles. In 1967, the ABA was formed and became known for its flashy playing style. Julius Irving, known affectionately as Dr. J is one of the most well known players whose career began in the ABA, before moving to the NBA for a notable and successful career on the court. By the 1970's, basketball had hit a low point. The ABA disbanded in 1976, and NBA ticket sales were down. The game was viewed as dull, and revenue declined, while TV ratings bottoming out at a record low. But, two young collegiate players were causing a stir in the mid-west in 1979. Larry Bird of Indiana University and Magic Johnson from Michigan State faced off against each other in a NCAA battle that sent both players to a visible place in the NBA, and generated some much needed attention on a game that was potentially dying. College basketball was the focus of the 1980's, and the 90's were all about Mike. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls mastered 6 NBA championships from 1991 to 1993, and 1996 to 1998. Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippin and Karl Malone all made waves in the NBA during the 90's and interest in the game hit an all-time high. Salary caps and other issues forced a player lockout during the 1997-98 season, canceling all league play until an agreement was reached in 1999. Now, athletes are celebrities on and off the court. They are icons in pop culture whose style and finesse on and off the court is replicated and in some cases available for sale. NBA players sported Mitchell & Ness vintage throwback jerseys of past court royalty like Chamberlain, Bird and Johnson off the hardwood. Mitchell & Ness now features over 1600 players including more recent greats like Kobe Bryant, Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal. >From peach baskets to pop- culture, the game of basketball has taken fans on a roller coaster of ups and downs from the beginning and will certainly hold our interest as it continues to change in the future.