How it all happened

James Naismith, born in Almonte, Ontario, was a graduate of McGill university and the Presbyterian Theological College. During his studies, one of his assigned courses was to teach physical education. With the task of keeping young men fit and interested, he started to devise a game for them to play. He decided to use two peach baskets on the opposite sides as the "goal." For the ball, he used a soccer ball. During these early years, once a player made a goal, the school janitor had to climb a ladder and retrieve the ball. Soon after, the game of basketball caught on fire, with schools all over the nation devising their own similar games. Naismith later named his game "basketball."

Patent approval of the basketball.

The National Basketball League was formed in 1937 by three giant corporations at the time - General Electric, Firestone, and Goodyear. The NBL league started with 13 teams and ran successfully for 12 years until it finally merged with the three-year-old Basketball Association of America in 1949. Thus, the NBA (National Basketball Association) was formed.

In 1950, the six remaining NBL franchises - Anderson, Denver, Sheboygan, the Syracuse Nationals, TriCities Blackhawks and Waterloo - joined along with the new Indianapolis Olympians and the BAA became the 17-team NBA.
By 1950-51 season, the NBA was down to 10 teams, and within a couple of years, it slipped to eight. By 1967, the NBA had a rival, the American Basketball Association (ABA). However, after a nine-year run, the ABA merged four clubs-the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets and San Antonio Spurs- with the NBA following the 1975-76 season.