The Basketball Fans

Basketball History

Essays on the defining eras, games, rivalries, and off-court moments in basketball's 130-year history.

Editorial tile: History, History of the three-point line

History of the three-point line

The three-point line did not start in the NBA. A close history of the arc, the 1961 American Basketball League origin, the ABA's 25-foot ado…
The red shot clock and white game clock in a basketball arena. The 24-second shot clock introduced in 1954 transformed professional basketball

How the 24-second shot clock saved the NBA

A close history of the 24-second shot clock. The Fort Wayne Pistons 19, Minneapolis Lakers 18 stall game on November 22, 1950, the lowest-sc…
Editorial tile: Magic versus Bird, Lakers versus Celtics, the rivalry that saved the NBA

Magic vs Bird: The Rivalry That Saved the NBA

From the 1979 NCAA championship game through three NBA Finals meetings in four seasons, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird produced the most impor…
Editorial tile: The 1992 Dream Team, Barcelona Olympics gold medal

The 1992 Dream Team: The Greatest Basketball Team Ever Assembled

The first Olympic basketball team permitted to include NBA players went 8–0, won gold by an average of 43.8 points a game, and became the mo…
Editorial tile: The Decision, July 8 2010, live ESPN broadcast

The Decision: LeBron James and the 2010 Miami Move

On July 8, 2010, LeBron James announced on a live ESPN special, in 75 minutes of broadcast, that he was signing with the Miami Heat. The mos…
The 1958-59 Syracuse Nationals, playing in the era before the NBA illegal defense rule enacted in 1981 to discourage zone defense

The illegal defense rule: history, death in 2001, and the modern defensive three-second violation

For 54 seasons the NBA banned zone defense through a rulebook construction called 'illegal defense.' The rule was introduced in amended form…
Editorial tile: The invention of basketball, Springfield 1891, peach basket

The Invention of Basketball: December 1891 in Springfield

James Naismith invented basketball in a Springfield, Massachusetts gymnasium in December 1891 after his supervisor, Luther Gulick, assigned …