Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball through the defender's hoop, while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and preserving the history of basketball. Dedicated to Canadian-American physician James Naismith, who invented the sport in Springfield, the Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1959, before opening its first facility on February 17, 1968.
James Naismith was a Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, and sports coach, best known as the inventor of the game of basketball. After moving to the United States, he wrote the original basketball rule book and founded the University of Kansas basketball program. Naismith lived to see basketball adopted as an Olympic demonstration sport in 1904 and as an official event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, as well as the birth of the National Invitation Tournament (1938) and the NCAA Tournament (1939).
George Lawrence Mikan Jr., nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of the NBL, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Invariably playing with thick, round spectacles, the 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m), 245 lb (111 kg) Mikan was one of the pioneers of professional basketball. Through his size and play, he redefined basketball as a game dominated in his day by "big men". His prolific rebounding, shot blocking, and ability to shoot over smaller defenders with his ambidextrous hook shot all helped to change the game. He also utilized the underhanded free-throw shooting technique long before Rick Barry made it his signature shot.
Paul Joseph Arizin, nicknamed "'Pitchin Paul", was an American basketball player who spent his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Philadelphia Warriors from 1950 to 1962. He retired with the third highest career point total (16,266) in NBA history, and was named to the NBA's 25th, 50th and 75th anniversary teams. He was a high-scoring forward at Villanova University before being drafted by the Warriors of the fledgling NBA.
Toni Kukoč is a Croatian former professional basketball player who serves as Special Advisor to Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls. After a highly successful period in European basketball, he was one of the first established European stars to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "The Waiter", Kukoč played for four NBA teams between 1993 and 2006, winning the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1996. He is a three-time NBA champion, having won championships with the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in 1996, 1997, and 1998.
Lynette Woodard is a retired American basketball Hall of Fame player and former head women's basketball coach at Winthrop University. Woodard made history by becoming the first female member of the Harlem Globetrotters and who, at age 38, began playing as one of the oldest members in the newly formed American women's professional basketball league, the WNBA.
The Yugoslavia men's national basketball team represented the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1943 until 1992 in international basketball, and was controlled by the Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia.
Springfield College is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts. It is known as the birthplace of basketball because the sport was invented there in 1891 by Canadian-American instructor James Naismith. The institution's philosophy of "humanics... calls for the education of the whole person—in spirit, mind, and body—for leadership in service to others."
Nathaniel "Tiny" Archibald is an American retired professional basketball player. He spent 14 years playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City–Omaha Kings and Boston Celtics. In 1991, he was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletic administrator. He attended the University of Chicago, where he won varsity letters in three sports. Hinkle captained the Chicago Maroons basketball team for two seasons was twice selected as an All-American, in 1919 and 1920. After graduating from the University of Chicago, Hinkle moved on to Butler University as a coach. There, over the course of nearly 50 years, he served as the head football coach, head basketball coach, and head baseball coach. Hinkle was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor in 1965. Butler's home basketball arena was renamed as Hinkle Fieldhouse in the coach's honor in 1966.
Nikolaos Georgalis, commonly known as either Nikos Galis, or Nick Galis, is a Greek former professional basketball player. Galis, who during his playing days was nicknamed, "Nick The Greek", "The Gangster", and "The Iron Man", is widely regarded as Europe's greatest scorer to ever play the game, and as one of the all-time greatest players in FIBA international basketball history. In 1991, Galis was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players. In 2007, he became an inaugural member of the FIBA Hall of Fame. In 2008, he was chosen as one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors. In 2017, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
John W. Bunn was an American basketball coach and key contributor to the game of basketball. The Wellston, Ohio native played three seasons under coach Phog Allen at University of Kansas while earning his bachelor's degree (1917–21). He later became an assistant to Allen for nine seasons (1921–30). His In 1930, he became men's basketball head coach at Stanford University, where he coached college all-time great Hank Luisetti. His 1936–37 team finished the season with a 25–2 record and was retroactively named the national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. After he left Stanford, Bunn went on to coach Springfield College (1946–56) and Colorado State College (1956–63).
Stanley H. Watts was an American basketball coach. He served as the head basketball coach at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1949 to 1972. The Murray, Utah native was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1986.
Renato William Jones, also known as R. William, or simply William Jones, was a British basketball executive and popularizer of basketball in Europe and in Asia. He held an honorary doctorate from Springfield College.
Charles Otis Bemies was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach and Presbyterian minister. He became acquainted with James Naismith while studying at Springfield College in the late 1880s. While serving as the athletic director at Geneva College, he organized the first college basketball team in 1892. He graduated from the Western Theological Seminary and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1897. From 1899 to 1901, he served as the first basketball and second football coach at Michigan Agricultural College. After retiring from coaching, Bemies served for many years as a Presbyterian minister and evangelist in rural Pennsylvania. He was also active with YMCA, serving with that organization in Russia in 1918 and in South Dakota in the early 1920s. Bemies lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in his later years and died there in 1948. He was posthumously inducted into the Beaver County Hall of Fame in 1992.
Basketball began with its invention in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts, by Canadian physical education instructor James Naismith as a less injury-prone sport than football. Naismith was a 31-year old graduate student when he created the indoor sport to keep athletes indoors during the winters. The game became established fairly quickly and grew very popular as the 20th century progressed, first in America and then in other parts of the world. After basketball became established in American colleges, the professional game followed. The American National Basketball Association (NBA), established in 1946, grew to a multibillion-dollar enterprise by the end of the century, and basketball became an integral part of American culture.
Basketball is a ball game and team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules. Since being developed by James Naismith as a non-contact game that almost anyone can play, basketball has undergone many different rule variations, eventually evolving into the NBA-style game known today. Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world.
The Greek Basket League Hall of Fame, or HEBA Basketball Hall of Fame is a hall of fame that recognizes and honors the best basketball players and head coaches in the history of Greece's top-tier level professional club league, the Greek Basket League. Players and head coaches are nominated for the honor, by the governing body of the Greek Basket League, the Hellenic Basketball Association (HEBA).
