Are you a basketball guru? Are there no facts you don’t know when it comes to this particular sport? If that sounds like you then read on, we’re about to prove you very wrong with this short piece that contains 10 things we’re willing to wager you never knew about basket ball.
1. James Naismith created the game
Coming in at number one is this mind bender. The game as you know it was created relatively recently compared to other major games when in 1891 an employee of the YMCA was asked by his employer to create an activity which would be good for winter time. Skeptical? Don’t be, it was in fact Naismith who wrote the original rule book for the game before going on to setup the University of Kansas basketball program. Some pretty big claims for this highly talented PE teacher.
2. Dribbling wasn’t allowed.
You read it right, back in the day players weren’t allowed to dribble the ball. It must have been a very different game to watch as players would try and advance the ball by throwing it from wherever they caught it.
Like many good inventions, dribbling is credited to Yale, or at least to a team that played for them back in 1987.
3. The Slam Dunk was shelved for over 5 years!
Between the years 1968 and 1976, the slam dunk was put in room 101. What an odd time that must have been for the game.
4. Basketball has being turned into a casino game!
There’s not so many sports that reach such dizzy heights of popularity that they become the theme for a slot machine. But it’s true, Microgaming have launched Basketball Star, which can be found here.
5. What colour are your balls?
Back in the day, most of the balls were brown whereas today, of course, it’s much more usual to see an orange ball. The company tasked with the all important job of supplying the NBA is Spalding – as you know, their balls are most definitely orange.
6. Heading for a gold medal
It was not until 1936 when your favourite hoop and ball game made it to the olympics in Berlin, Germany.
7. Almost as big as soccer
There aren’t many games that can give soccer, or football (depending on where you’re from) a run for its money.
Whilst falling someway short of stealing the crown, basketball is widely acknowledged as being the second most popular sport with over one billion fans following the game globally.
8. Hot balls bounce
What!? This is becoming something of a ballsy post, but it is true, in the game of basketball, the hotter the ball, the bouncier it becomes. If you know your science, you’ll already have concluded that this must be because when hot, the molecules inside the ball collide with the surfaces more quickly. If that is the conclusion you came to, then well done, school paid off.
9. What’s a three-pointer?
We’re not asking you, we know you’ll know! But actually, it turns out this particularly prominent shot wasn’t a thing until somewhere between 1979 and 1980 when it was it was allowed to be part of the game thanks to a changing of the rules by the NBA.
10. Who wears short-shorts?
Definitely not Michael Jordan! The shorts worn by basketball players were actually really short until 1984 when Michael Jordan threw his teddy out the pram and demanded long ones!
So having ready through have we won our wager? Did you know any of the answers or have we just had the pleasure of teaching you ten new facts about your favourite game?