Essay On Basketball Then And Now

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Basketball Then and Now Can you imagine playing the game of basketball without a three point line? Basketball has constantly changed throughout history and continues to change today. The National Basketball Association has risen in popularity and is now one of America’s more popular sports. Because basketball continues to be a popular sport, a fan should learn about the origin of the NBA, how the game evolved from the late 1940s to the early 2000s, and how the players today impact the way it is played. Although many sports are not considered American-made, basketball is one of the few that began in America. In fact it is the only major sport that can be considered American-made (Encyclopedia.com, Basketball). The inventor of basketball was Dr. James Naismith, who created the sport in 1891(History.com Staff, NBA is Born). This was all the way back when there were only forty-four states(nbahoopsonline.com, NBA History). He made the sport in Springfield, Massachusetts(History.com Staff, NBA is Born). Naismith invented this sport because he was P.E. teacher seeking a sport with limited physical contact, but it contained running, jumping, shooting, and hand-eye coordination(Encyclopedia.com, Basketball). The game first used peach baskets and a soccer like ball(History.com Staff, …show more content…

There are now even more international players in the league today, and many of them show great potential. International players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kristaps Porzingis are just few examples of rising stars in the game(Segal 79). As of today the NBA is in a phase known as the LeBron era(Segal 22). Right now, guards are being seen as more of the focal point of the team rather than big men(Segal 33). Some of today’s brightest stars include guards like Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Stephen Curry(Segal 10). Last but not least, players are forced to play a lot softer today than in the past due to multiple rule changes(Trenchard, NBA Then and

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