Basketball, in Italian basketball but also commonly basketball, blows out 128 candles today. The game of the "sliced ball", which is played 5 against 5 and which consists in throwing it into a basket with a diameter of 45 centimeters, placed at a height of 3.05 metres, saw the light exactly on December 15, 1891: to invent it, as is known to enthusiasts, was the Canadian physical education teacher (and doctor) James Naismith. Only many years later, in 1932, the International Federation (FIBA) was created, which still dictates the rules and organizes the major international events of this sport which over time has become one of the most popular and practiced in the world, dragged in popularity above all from the spectacular North American league, the NBA.
Basketball, which has been an Olympic sport since the 1936 Games in Berlin (the USA won in the final against Canada, the inventor's native country), was born by chance, and as a subsidiary of the then already existing and very popular American football: in Naismith in fact they were asked to find a sport that could keep football players in training during the winter season, as an alternative to boring gym exercises. Thus he saw the light a new game initially governed by only thirteen rules, with a basket hanging from the ends of the gymnasium of the sports center and teams composed of a variable number of players. The following January 15th the first game in basketball history was played between two teams of nine players: it finished 1-0 (!) thanks to a basket by William Richmond Chase.
The name of the game was coined by one of James Naismith's pupils, Frank Mahan, after the inventor refused to call it Naismithball. On January 15, 1892, Naismith published the rules of the game: the basket was applied at the height of the grandstand, a wicker basket was used as a basket and when the ball entered, a ladder was used to pick it up. The first professional league, the National Basketball League, was formed in 1898 to protect players from exploitation and to promote a less aggressive and rough game (this league lasted only 5 years). On February 9, 1895, the first 5-on-5 intercollegiate game was played between Hamline University and the School of Agriculture, which was affiliated with the University of Minnesota. The School of Agriculture won the game with the score 9–3.
In 1946 the National Basketball Association (Nba) was born in the USA, with the aim of organizing professional teams and making the sport more popular. In Europe, basketball had a particular resonance and above all the Soviet Union was the state that managed to compete internationally with the power of the United States. Italy has built up a good tradition over time, winning the European championship twice (1983 and 1999) and an Olympic silver, as well as several placements in various international competitions.
