Basketball is one of the most popular and prominent sports today. It is the second most popular sport, only behind Football/Soccer, as it has over 2.4 billion fans and is played almost everywhere globally today. The NBA was created in 1946, but the roots of the sport go back over 100 years ago. It is one of the most recent sports created compared to other sports, such as football/soccer, whose roots go back to 2000 years ago. Ever since the NBA was created in 1946, Basketball slowly started to gain attraction, leading to its immense popularity. Basketball is now one of the most accessible sports, as most neighborhoods today have basketball courts, which is one of the reasons for its worldwide popularity. Basketball has created many popular and well-known athletes worldwide, such as Michael Jordan, Lebron James, and Kobe Bryant. Ultimately, Basketball is an entertaining game that promotes social skills and teamwork while providing physical activity and fun.

Basketball has evolved a lot throughout time since it was first created. The game of Basketball was created in December of 1891 by a Canadian YMCA gym teacher, Dr. James Naismith, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Naismith wanted to invent a new game that students could play indoors during the brisk cold winter of Massachusetts. However, the game was initially played way differently than you would expect it to be played. Players used to play with soccer balls instead of actual basketballs and would use the peached hoops without an opening instead of nets. Also, dribbling was not an official thing when basketball was initially created. Players just passed it to each other and aimed to put the ball in the basket. However, the game quickly evolved, and new changes were made. By the early 1900s, metal rims were added to the baskets, and dribbling was legal. Soon later, the NBL (National Basketball League), the first-ever professional basketball league, was created. About 12 years later, the BAA (Basketball Association of America) was formed. The BAA consisted of the early version of well-known teams today, such as the Boston Celtics, Minneapolis (now Los Angeles) Lakers, New York Knickerbockers (now Knicks), and the Philadelphia (now Golden State) Warriors. Due to the sport’s increasing popularity, the BAA and the NBL agreed to merge, thus creating the NBA (National Basketball Association) as it is known today.

In 1956, Bill Russell, one of the greatest players ever, debuted for the Boston Celtics. Russell and the Celtics dominated the late 1950s and most of the 1960s. They won championships in 11 out of the 13 years Russell played in the NBA. In 1959, Wilt Chamberlain, one of the freakiest athletes of all time and an eventual rival of Russell, joined the league. Chamberlain could lift up to 500 pounds and was an insane track and field athlete as well! That was not even the craziest thing he did. The man dropped 100 points in an NBA game. Yes! 100! The record is still held to this day. However, there is a conspiracy that this never happened, as there is no actual footage of the game.

The next couple of years for the NBA were tough times. A few years later, in 1967, the ABA (American Basketball Association) was formed, and it quickly became rivals with the NBA. These leagues were filled with many players on many teams, creating a rift among fans. This led to a dramatic decrease in the popularity of the NBA. By the end of the 1970s, the NBA was at an all-time low, and no one really cared about the league or the sport of basketball. However, there were two saviors at the time – Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. In the late 1970s, Magic and Bird were the best college basketball players. They had an intense rivalry that ended up being one of the greatest in the entire history of sports, not just basketball. By the 1980s, Magic was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, and Larry Bird was drafted by the Boston Celtics.

More things happened during the late 1970s that led to the boom of the NBA. One of which was when the NBA absorbed the four remaining ABA teams. This meant that the NBA was the sole professional basketball league in the world. A three-point line was added after a few years in 1979, revolutionizing the game in just a few decades. The NBA at this time was the biggest it could have ever been, and the jerseys of players and teams were beginning to sell, mainly the jerseys of Magic and Bird.

Then came the player who would not just change the landscape of the NBA, he would also change the history of the game of basketball itself. The one and only, Michael Jordan. In 1982, Jordan made a name for himself as he led his college team, North Carolina, to the championship game. In the final seconds of the game, Jordan clutched up and hit the game-winning shot, leading North Carolina to win the NCAA National Championship. He got drafted 3rd overall to the Chicago Bulls and immediately became a star in the rookie season as he took home the Rookie of the Year Honors.

Just when everyone believed he could become the face of the league, Jordan got injured. After Jordan returned a few months later, he transformed himself into a completely different player. He got MVPs (Most Valuable Players), DPOY (Defensive Player of the Year), and All-NBA Honors. Led by an time great coach Phil Jackson and a great collection of players including Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Horace Grant, Ron Harper, and the rest of the Chicago Bulls, the Bulls would three-peat and win back-to-back-to-back championships in a row from 1991 to 1993.

Air Jordan shoes boomed in popularity during this time as well. This was a time when basketball really started to become a global sport since a lot of people wanted to “be like Mike”. By 1992, the NBA started playing games internationally in countries like China, Germany, and Russia. Also during 1992 the 1992 Olympics, Jordan, Magic, and Bird teamed up to play for the U.S. Olympic team. The team would also consist of players us as Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler, David Robinson, and more. The Team went undefeated in all six of their games and won their games on average by a margin of 51 points! Yes – 51 points! To this day, there is debate that this is the greatest sports, not just basketball, team ever assembled.

At this time, basketball was at its peak, and this led to the NBA adding 2 teams in Canada (the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver (Later Memphis) Grizzlies). Now back to Jordan and the Bulls. Soon after the Bulls’ three-peat in 1993, tragedy would strike for Michael Jordan. His father, James Jordan, would get shot and killed after getting murdered. This left Jordan devastated and led him to retire in 1993 to pursue a career in baseball, which was because his father had always wanted him to play baseball. During Jordan’s absence, Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets won back-to-back championships. However, these are often forgotten as it was in between the Bulls’ two three-peats from 1991-1993 and 1996-1998.

Two years after retiring, Jordan said two of the most iconic words in NBA History: “I’m back.” After Jordan came back from retirement, another iconic player in NBA History joined the league, and it was no one other than the Black Mamba, Kobe Bryant. Like I said before, the Bulls would win another three more championships in a row from 1996 – 1998. The 1996 Bulls had one of the greatest seasons in NBA History as they won 72 regular season games and only had 10 losses. This team was considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, teams of all time. The Bulls won the 1996 NBA Championship on Father’s Day and Jordan, obviously, dedicated this win to his father.

The Bulls would then win the championships again in 1997 and 1998 against the talented Utah Jazz team led by the duo of Karl Malone and John Stockton. In game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, Jordan would hit the game-winning shot that propelled the Bulls to victory. This “Last shot,” as it was called, went down as one of the most iconic shots, a shot in which Jordan secured his 6th ring, cementing himself as the Greatest Basketball Player in NBA History. After their victory in 1998, the entire Bulls team broke up as their owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, didn’t want to pay the money to keep all the players on the team. This leads to the team breaking up and Reinsdorf being portrayed as the villain. As dominant as the Chicago Bulls were during the 1990s, there was a chance they could’ve been even more powerful as they could’ve potentially won 8 championships in a row if Jordan hadn’t retired and the Bulls hadn’t broken up in 1998.

After the breakup of the Bulls, young players such as Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Allen “AI” Iverson were set to take over the league. These three were unique and brought something to the league in their own ways. Shaq was one of the most dominant and unstoppable players due to his size; Kobe was a freakish athlete and had the well-known “Mamba Mentality,” which was what made Kobe different than other players in NBA History; AI redefined playmaking, handles, and dribbling for all players. AI was one of the players who had the most significant impact on the hip-hop culture in sports due to his braided cornrow hairstyle, stylistic tattoos, and baggy clothing. In the late 1990s, Shaq joined Kobe and the Los Angeles Lakers, immediately forming one of the greatest duos in NBA, even sports, history. They won three championships in a row from 2000 to 2002. However, the two ran into issues with each other, which led to the decline of their relationship. Kobe labeled Shaq as “unserious” and “lazy,” in which Shaq got offended, and labeled Kobe as “mean” and “rude”. The two would get into fights often, and this would lead to the Lakers trading Shaq to the Miami Heat in the summer of 2004.

During this time, there was a kid from Akron, Ohio, who played in St. Vincent – St. Mary High School and took the world by storm. It was no other than the King himself, Lebron James. He was considered the hybrid of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson and was considered one of the greatest basketball prospects of all time. In the 2003 NBA Draft Lebron got drafted 1st overall to his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

During the early 2000s, there was a referee Tim Donaughy was caught in a gambling scandal where he was caught betting on and rigging games, both the regular season and playoff games. He altered the outcome of many games that would’ve hence changed NBA History. One of these series was the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings. The refs were clearly in favor of the Los Angeles Lakers. It was particularly obvious in game 6 of the series where the Lakers shot 27 free throws in the fourth quarter. The Lakers barely escaped elimination and forced a game 7, where they would win and advance to the NBA Finals. NBA History would be changed as Kobe and Shaq wouldn’t have a three-peat and also have one, maybe more, or fewer rings than they have today. Tim Donaghy was also caught betting against the Houston Rockets in their playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks in 2005. Eventually, a 2-year investigation was held by the FBI and Donaughy was sentenced to jail for 15 months in 2007.

Even though there were early examples of superteams in the NBA such as the Lakers and Celtics in the 1960s – 1980s, the Sixers in the 1980s with Moses Malone and Julius Erving, or when the Bulls formed superteam in the late 1980s and early 1990s, or the Lakers again in the early 2000s, it was more obvious when the Celtics in the offseason of 2007 when they added MVP – Kevin Garnett, and sharpshooting star – Ray Allen alongside the All-Star in Paul Pierce. This was really the first time in NBA History when a team actually had three superstars. The Celtics ended up winning the championship in the following year in 2008 after forming the big three and having other great players such as Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, and more. Another super. Another superteam formed in South Beach when the Miami Heat acquired Chris Bosh and Lebron James to form a trio with Dwayne Wade. Similar to the Celtics, they made it to the NBA Finals in the following year in 2011.

At the start of the 2011-2012 Season, the NBA Lockout occurred due to the owners wanting to establish a bigger luxury tax and pay the players less. This led to a disagreement between the players and the owners, leading the NBA to cancel and postpone all of its games. During this period, teams could not trade or sign players or coaches. Star players such as Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, and Derrick Rose played in local leagues while other players, such as J.R. Smith, went and played internationally, and some other players, such as Javale Mcgee, went and got regular jobs as nobody including the players and coaches got paid. The NBA lost nearly a fifth of its revenue, which was nearly $800 million at the time. After everyone came to an agreement, the season resumed on Christmas day. One long-term effect the NBA lockout had was the ridiculous contracts that average NBA players began getting. For example, Chandler Parsons $94.5 Million for 4 years, and Timofy Mosgov got $64 Million for 4 years.

In Miami, Lebron James and the Heat went to four straight NBA Finals from 2011 – 2014. They won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. During the 2012 and 2013 NBA Seasons, Lebron got back-to-back MVP awards for the second time in his career (the first time was the 2009 and 2010 NBA Seasons in Cleveland). After getting his championships in Miami and transforming himself into one of the greatest players in NBA History, Lebron returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers to fulfill his promise of bringing a title to his hometown team. However, Lebron and the NBA didn’t anticipate a player’s rise and the birth of a dynasty that would leave a mark, change the NBA, and revolutionize the game of basketball forever. It was none other than Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Curry was a lights-out shooter from beyond the 3-point line and made shots from anywhere. The Warriors emphasized shooting the 3-point shot and making threes at a historical rate in a way never seen before. The Warriors were the first team in NBA History to make 1,000 threes in an NBA Season when they achieved that feat in the 2015-16 season. Also, that season, Curry hit more threes than any player in NBA History and shattered the three-point record, becoming the first-ever player to hit 300 and eventually 400 threes in a season in NBA History. Shooting three-pointers went from a regular play to becoming the most popular way basketball is played today. The Warriors were the best team in the NBA during that time. They won the finals in 2015, and the following season, they had the best record by a team in NBA history with a 73-9 win-loss ratio. Curry won back-to-back MVPs during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 NBA Seasons. When Curry got his 2nd career MVP award in 2016, he was the first-ever unanimous award winner. The Warriors’ style of play motivated other players and teams to shoot threes at a historic rate. One of those was James Harden and the Houston Rockets. In the 2018 – 19 season, James Harden hit 378 threes, the second most by any player in NBA History. Many teams shattered the three-point record in the following seasons up until now. 

The rivalry between the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, versus Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors was highly intense during the mid to late 2010s. They played an iconic series in the 2016 NBA Finals. The Warriors dominated three out of the four games to begin the series and took a commanding three-games-to-one series lead. Surprisingly, Lebron James and Kyrie Irving led their team to a historic comeback and became the first team ever to come back from down three games to one in the finals to win the championship. 2 of those 3 games were in Oracle Arena, where the Warriors had one of the best home-court advantages ever. Also, they recorded the most wins at home during those 2 years in NBA History. During the final moments of game 7, Lebron’s impressive chase-down block on Iguodala and Kyrie’s clutch three-pointer over Curry led the Cavs to win game 7 and become NBA Champions for the first time in franchise history. This was the first time that the city of Cleveland won a championship in any of the major sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL). The 2016 Cavs were only the 11th team in NBA History to come back from a 3 – 1 series deficit in a playoff series. This is considered one of the most impressive accomplishments in all of NBA History. Considering the 2016 Warriors won 73 games in the regular season, it was more impressive.

Also during the late 2010s, international players took over the NBA. Players like Giannis Antetokoumpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), and Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) have won the last five NBA MVP (Most Valuable Players) awards from 2019 – 2023. Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) has already established himself as a top-five NBA player at such a young age as well. These are arguably the four of the top five players in the NBA as it stands today. A huge factor in the emergence of these international players is globalization and the popularity of the sport of basketball around the world. This has also led to increased talent and interest among people across many different countries throughout the world.

Things took a severe turn for the world when the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020. It became more impactful for the NBA when they had to entirely shut down and suspend the entire 2019-2020 NBA season in March 2020. This happened right after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. NBA was suspended and shut down for four entire months. Throughout all the deadly and tragic events going on throughout the world in 2020, the NBA decided to resume the season. The NBA created a Bubble in Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida, where 22 teams returned and continued their season. For three months, players and coaches couldn’t leave their rooms, see their family members, order outside food, or even meet other people. Teams played in empty arenas with virtual fans shown on the wall. During these tumultuous times, the NBA accomplished an impressive feat as no one tested positive for COVID-19 during the three months. The Bubble concluded when Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers lifted the franchise’s 17th NBA Championship, tying with the Boston Celtics for the most all-time. Lebron would get his 4th ring.

The following season (2020-21) resumed 2 months later. It was weird for the first half of the season when there were no fans in the stadiums; however, limited fans could eventually come to games during the second half. The 2021 Playoffs were a memorable and unusual one. Lebron got eliminated in the first round for the first time ever in his career. New teams, such as the Phoenix Suns (my favorite team!), led by Devin Booker and Chris Paul, and the Atlanta Hawks, led by Trae Young, made deep runs in the playoffs. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA Championship (their first in 50 years) as they defeated my Phoenix Suns in the 2021 NBA Finals (still need to recover). The following year, in 2022, Stephen Curry and the new-look Golden State Warriors established themselves as all-time greats, securing their 4th NBA Championship in the Steve Kerr era by defeating the Boston Celtics in 6 games. A couple of months ago, Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets won their first-ever NBA championship. An interesting fun fact about the last three NBA champions is that their best players are homegrown, meaning that they won a championship with the team that drafted them. Curry, Giannis, and Jokic never escaped the grind, remained loyal, and won with their respective teams.

As the NBA progresses after 76 successful seasons, we are witnessing the end of an era. Players such as Lebron, Curry, KD, CP3, Harden, Westbrook, and D-Rose are all 34 years or older. It’s shocking to believe the players of the previous generation  I have watched growing up will all retire after just a couple more seasons. The league will look different by the decade’s end, as we will have completely different stars. These players include Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson, Lamelo Ball, Trae Young, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, and Ja Morant. Basketball and the complexity of the NBA might also change in the upcoming decades. New technology, such as airless basketballs, Artificial Intelligence, and robots, might be brought to the league. The NBA plans to expand to 32 teams, with potential sites in Seattle and Las Vegas. Even though the NBA and basketball have changed a lot throughout the years, there will be more unexpected and dramatic changes and additions to the game in the foreseeable future.

Basketball is significant for numerous reasons, making it more than just a sport—it’s a global cultural phenomenon that transcends boundaries and unites people. Its fast-paced nature, teamwork requirements, and emphasis on strategy make it both thrilling to watch and exhilarating to play. Beyond the court, basketball fosters discipline, leadership, and perseverance, teaching valuable life skills to players of all ages. Moreover, it promotes inclusivity, bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures, and fostering a sense of community and understanding. Additionally, basketball serves as a powerful platform for social change, addressing issues such as inequality and racism. Its influence extends beyond the game, making it a vital part of our society, inspiring generations, and leaving an indelible mark on the world.

Basketball is significant because it’s more than just a game. It brings people together and teaches valuable skills like hard work, teamwork, and determination. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or who you are, anyone can enjoy and play basketball. It’s not just about scoring points, it’s about making friends, learning important life lessons, and even standing up for what’s right. Basketball isn’t just played on the court as its impact is felt across communities, uniting people and making the world a better place.