Basketball was invented in December 1891 by James W. Naismith (1861-1939) of Canada, who was then an instructor at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, now Springfield College. The game was invented when Naismith was charged with developing an indoor game to keep his students in shape during the cold New England winter. Originally, basketball was played with peach baskets, and an attendant on a ladder retrieved the ball after a made basket. Naismith formulated 13 rules of the game, the majority of which still form the basics of the modern game.

Although primarily developed in the United States, basketball had spread internationally by the 1930s. After the foundation of the International Basketball Federation 1932 in Geneva, Switzerland.

(BOCOG)