• NBA - Teams, Players, History, Timeline
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• The sport of basketball has been gracing postage stamps since 1934, when the U.S. administrators of the Philippines issued the 16 cent commemorative pictured at right.

This 12th Street YMCA team from Washington, DC was declared Colored Basketball World's Champions in 1910.

• The NBA traces its roots back to 1946 and the Basketball Association of America. But the first documented professional basketball game in the US took place in 1896, just five years after James Naismith wrote the rules. The first pro league -- the National Basket Ball League -- began operations in 1898.

It was a wild time, with barnstorming teams, leagues that came and went, and men who could play for three teams in three leagues at the same time. Read about the beginnings of pro ball in NBA Roots.

Smith College Class of 1895 team

• Basketball spread across the country like wildfire in the 1890s. Lots of people were looking for a competitive indoor game in the winter. But it wasn't just the guys. As soon as boys started playing, girls did, too. Read about the AAU Women's Champions. Or check out some of the other articles about the women's game.

• All articles on basketball's origins
• Early Leagues
• All articles on early teams

• Who was the first men's college national champ? Temple, winner of the 1938 National Invitation Tournament (NIT)? The Oregon Ducks, winners of the 1939 NCAA championship? The Helms Foundation picked mythical national champions for every season between 1901 and 1983. That expert panel picked Yale, 1901, as the first national champ. See if you agree with the Helms Foundation picks.

Nat Holman in his Original Celtics uniform, 1922.

• All articles about African-Americans and basketball

• "Why are they so good at basketball? They dominate the sport. They must have some innate physical advantage that the rest of us don't have." Sound familiar? But in the first half of the 20th Century "they" were Jews. Many of the top players were kids who grew up playing ball on the tough streets of New York and Philadelphia. Kids like Nat Holman (right), Barney Sedran, Bennie Borgmann, Max Friedman and Eddie Gottlieb, who all grew up to be Hall of Famers. To learn more about race and hoops, read Questions of Race.

• In 1897 the Amateur Athletic Union organized a tournament to determine a national men's basketball champion. They've been holding such tournaments ever since. For most of the first half of the 20th Century the AAU was the most prestigious championship there was. For a listing of all the championship games, go to AAU Men's Champions.

The Nankai Five Tigers: China's first dominating team, ca. 1896.

• Basketball is a world game. It is huge in China, and has been since the early 20th Century (left). Read about the beginnings of basketball in China. You might be surprised to learn that Professional Basketball in China started only in 1995.

• 1925 - Above: Lou Carnesecca, St. John's and New York Nets Hall of Fame coach, is born in New York City.

• 1954 - Right: Hall of Famer Alex English, the first player in NBA history to score 2,000 points in eight straight seasons, is born in Columbia, South Carolina.

• 1962 - Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors begins a streak of 47 consecutive complete games, an NBA record.

• 1971 - In Martin, Tennessee the hapless Washington Generals finally win a game against the Harlem Globetrotters. Red Klotz sinks the winning basket in overtime for a 100-99 victory that ends the Globetrotters' 2,499-game winning streak.

• 1988 - Right: Basketball legend "Pistol Pete" Maravich dies of a heart attack while playing in a pickup three-on-three game in a California gym. He is 40 years old.

• 1991 - Kevin Bradshaw of the now-defunct U.S. International College, scores 72 points against Loyola Marymount, setting the NCAA Division I scoring record.

• 2000 - Morgan Wootten DeMatha's Hall of Fame Coach enters his sixth decade of coaching with a game against Bladensburg. Coach Wootten has guided teams in the 1950's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and to the 2000's.

• 2001 - Tim Thomas of the Milwaukee Bucks connects on eight three-point field goals in the second half of Milwaukee’s 119-115 victory over Portland, breaking the record of seven three-pointers made in one half, shared by 10 players.

• 2004 - Stephon Marbury and Cezary Trybanski are traded by the Phoenix Suns to the New York Knicks for Howard Eisley, Charlie Ward, Antonio McDyess, Maciej Lampe, draft rights to Milos Vujanic, a first-round 2004 draft choice, and an additional future first-round draft choice.

• Has anyone ever told you that something was impossible? Well, Devin Harris proved them all wrong when he made A miraculous half court shot against the Philadelphia 76ers on February 23, 2009.

• You probably have heard of Blake Griffin: A former Oklahoma Sooner, the first pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. But have you ever heard of his older brother Taylor Griffin, who also played with the Sooners and was selected 47 picks after Blake?

• Located on the South Side of Chicago, the Wabash Avenue YMCA has a rich history of basketball including legendary player Nat Clifton.

• Basketball: The Basics
• Original Rules
• Right: Trent Tucker the New York Knick that spawned a NBA rule because of a game involving himself, the Chicago Bulls and one tenth of a second remaining on the game clock. Read more.
• NBA Rules
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• Common Basketball Terms
• Slang Basketball Terms
• Fantasy Basketball: The Basics
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