The History of Basketball

Since its invention in 1891 by James Naismith at a Springfield, Mass., YMCA, the sport of basketball has become one of the most widely played team sports in the world. More than 300 colleges and universities in the United States play in NCAA's Division I, the top collegiate level, and the season-ending men's tournament, known as March Madness or the Big Dance, is one of the most passionately followed events in American sports.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has also grown from modest roots to become the world's premier professional basketball league. From the blacktopped playgrounds of big cities to rural farms and gyms -- and the best of the best from all around the world -- future basketball stars aspire to the recognition of playing for one of the NBA's 30 teams, among the greats of the game.