The yin and yang of basketball

By 99% Invisible, adapted by Newsela staff on 01.08.18

Word Count 749
Level 1080L

Image 1: In 1891, a physical education teacher in Springfield, Massachusetts, invented the game of basketball. Photo by: Pexels

In 1891, a physical education teacher in Springfield, Massachusetts, invented the game we would
come to know as basketball. In setting the height of the baskets, he accidentally created a design
problem that would not be resolved for decades to come.

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As James Naismith tacked up a pair of peach baskets at either end of the school gym. He did not
give much thought to how high, but simply nailed them up 10 feet above the ground. Naismith
then split the students into teams, and gave them an old soccer ball. He told the kids to try and
score points by getting the ball in the opposing team’s basket.

The game became more popular over the years, and in time, supertall players began to dominate
the sport. In the 1940s and 1950s, dunking was still rare, but some already thought that it was a
too-easy way to score.

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Then, in the 1960s, slam dunks started to take off. Slam dunks were exciting to watch and also
reinforced the role of the so-called “big man” on the basketball courts.

The dunk was becoming popular at the same time as social unrest rose in the country. The Black
Panthers was a group that formed in the mid-1960s because it wanted to protect African-
American rights.

Banning The Dunk

The Black Panthers were organizing and arming themselves in Oakland, California, and some
white Americans were worried a revolution was about to take place.

Dunking a basketball was seen by some racist critics as a literal rise of “black power" because
many of the athletes who could dunk were black. One example is Lew Alcindor, who would later
change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He was a famous professional basketball player in
the NBA.

Under pressure, the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) banned the dunk in 1967,
though the NBA did not ban the dunk.

Meanwhile, there was criticism that the game was too slow because with or without the dunk, the
game was just too jammed up around the net. Players would huddle around the basket and then
hand the ball to their “big man” teammates to score. Everyone involved seemed to share the
sense that something needed to change.

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Introduction Of The Three-Point Shot

People suggested many fixes to make the game more exciting. Some ideas were getting rid of the
backboard or changing the shape of it. Others included making the basket smaller, making the
ball bigger and adding a no-scoring zone around the basket.

None of those ideas caught on, but a new rival professional basketball league called American
Basketball Association came along with the goal of shaking things up with some other fresh
approaches. The ABA had many crazy ideas, including halftime shows with bear wrestling. Most
of its ideas didn’t stick, except for one: the three-point shot.

Originally, shots from the field were worth two points, but the ABA’s innovation was to add an arc
line on the court that was about 22 feet from the basket. Any shot made from behind that line
would be worth three points.

Fans loved the three-point shot because it was impressive when players made it. And, the three-
point shot was also something fans could practice at home and aspire to do.

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Leveling The Playing Court

The three-point shot also changed the dynamic on the court by rewarding attempts to shoot the
ball farther from the net and break up the cluster around the net. In turn, this reduced reliance on
taller players and gave other players a chance to shine.

In 1976, the NBA and the ABA merged and added the three-point shot two years later, but did not
ban the slam dunk from the game.

Adding the three-point shot and leaving in the slam dunk balances the game of basketball. Now
the game is more inclusive than it ever has been because there is room for little guys as well as
big guys. Players are having to evolve just like basketball has evolved.

Some traditionalists still see the three-point shot as a problem and they still don’t like the dunk,
either. But, a lot of things have changed since teacher James Naismith tacked those peach
baskets to the gym wall. It all started with a more-or-less accidental decision by Naismith just
trying to keep kids quiet, entertained and out of trouble.

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