Though basketball's invention took place in the United States, the sport owes much to Canada. Canadians have played a role in basketball's development since its invention by Dr. James Naismith of Ontario. Canadian basketball players continue to compete in the NBA and in the Olympic Games.
Invention
Dr. James Naismith invented basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891. Naismith, a Canadian born near Almonte, Ontario, in 1861, developed basketball as an indoor sport for athletes at a YMCA school to play during the Massachusetts winters. The original version of the game had only 13 rules. It required two peach baskets for goals, each hung 10 feet above the floor. Springfield is now home to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
First Players
The first basketball game, played at the YMCA training school in Springfield, featured at least 10 players from a university in Quebec.
International Competition
Canada has sent basketball teams to the Olympic Games since the sport's debut at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. The country has sent teams to the World Championships since 1954. As of 2010, FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, ranked the Canadian women's team 12th in the world and the men's team 23rd.
NBA
The forerunner of the National Basketball Association played its first game in Toronto in 1946. The New York Knickerbockers beat the Toronto Huskies, 68-66. The NBA was then known as the Basketball Association of America. In 1995, the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies, now the Memphis Grizzlies, joined the NBA.
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