1891

Tasked with creating a new indoor sport to keep student track athletes engaged during the winter months, Springfield College physical education teacher James Naismith invents basketball

1896

The first intercollegiate basketball game featuring five players per side takes place, with the University of Chicago defeating Iowa, 15-12

1898

Now widely recognized as the first professional basketball association, the National Basketball League begins play and ends its first season with the Trenton Nationals crowned as champions

1904

Basketball is included as a demonstration sport at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis with four different events, including an AAU tournament won by the Buffalo Germans and a collegiate tournament won by Hiram College

1909

Saint Petersburg, Russia is the site of the first international basketball game, an exhibition match between a local squad and an American YMCA team

1911

Crawfordville High School are champions of the inaugural Indiana High School Boys Basketball Tournament. The tournament was founded as a response to controversy over which school deserved the 1910 state title

1918

Barnstorming sensations the Original Celtics are founded, with Madison Square Garden in New York as their home base

1922

The Commonwealth Big Five (“Commons”), named after their owner’s casino, the Commonwealth Club in Harlem, become the first all-Black basketball team

1923

The New York Renaissance (“Rens”) are established in Harlem as the first all-Black, Black-owned professional basketball team

1925

A group of NFL owners, including George Halas and George Preston Marshall, form the American Basketball League (ABL), which is considered the first major pro basketball league in the U.S.;

1928

A barnstorming team based out of Chicago called the Savoy Big Five are sold to Abe Saperstein, who relocates their home base to New York and changes the team name to Harlem Globetrotters

The Boston Garden officially opens; its first event is a boxing card headlined by “Honey Boy” Dick Finnegan defeating Andre Routis

1931

Following the ’30-’31 season in which the Brooklyn Visitations won the league title, the American Basketball League (ABL) suspends operations

1932

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) is chartered in Geneva to organize major international tournaments, including the upcoming Olympics

1933

The American Basketball League (ABL) resumes operations for a ’33-’34 season, with the teams now more focused in the East Coast; this includes the former barnstorming squad the Philadelphia SPHAs, who win the 1934 ABL title, their first of seven championships in the league

1934

In a possibly apocryphal story, 12-year-old Kenny Sailors invents the jump shot at his family farm in Wyoming; he would eventually dominate at the NCAA (at the University of Wyoming) and pro levels thanks to the innovation

1935

The first ever EuroBasket takes place, with 10 national teams participating in Geneva, Switzerland. Latvia wins the title, defeating Spain in the Final.

1936

The All-American Red Heads are founded, becoming the first major all-women pro team and eventually one of the biggest legends in barnstorming history

Basketball is included as a sport at the Olympics for the first time at the Berlin games. With James Naismith in attendance, the United States defeats Canada in the gold medal game. Mexico earns the bronze medal and Poland finishes in fourth place. The games are played outdoors on a clay court, which proves especially difficult in the gold medal game due to rainy conditions.

1937

The National Basketball League (NBL), founded by the Goodyear, General Electric, and Firestone companies, begins its inaugural season

The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons begin play as a semi-pro, un-affiliated, company team. They would eventually join the NBL in 1941, then the BAA/NBA in 1948, followed by re-locating to Detroit in 1957

1938

The Temple Owls are champion of the inaugural NCAA National Invitational Tournament (NIT), defeating Colorado in the Final at Madison Square Garden in New York. Temple’s Don Shields is named tournament MVP

The Akron Goodyear Wingfoots defeat the Oshkosh All-Stars in the inaugural NBL Finals. The best-of-three series comes down to a winner-take-all game three, with the Wingfoots prevailing 37-35. Oshkosh’s Leroy “Cowboy” Edwards is named league MVP

1939

Long Island University are champions of the NCAA NIT, defeating Loyola-Chicago 44-32 in the Final at Madison Square Garden. Despite his team getting eliminated in the semifinals, Bill Lloyd of St. John’s is named tournament MVP

Eight schools participate in the first ever NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, with Oregon defeating Ohio State in the Final in Evanston, Illinois. Ohio State’s Jimmy Hull is named Most Outstanding Player

The Akron Firestone Non-Skids defeat the Oshkosh All-Stars three games to two in the NBL Finals. Leroy “Cowboy” Edwards of Oshkosh earns league MVP for the second straight year

The New York Rens are champions of the inaugural World Professional Basketball Tournament in Chicago, defeating the Oshkosh All-Stars in the final

1940

Basketball is watched on television for the first time, when a regular season NCAA game between Pittsburgh and Fordham is broadcast on the New York NBC affiliate

Tournament MVP Bob “Ichabod” Doll leads Colorado to the NIT title, defeating Duquesne 51-40 in the Final at Madison Square Garden. The Buffaloes simultaneously participated in the NCAA Tournament, getting eliminated by USC in the West Regional Semifinals

Indiana wins its first ever NCAA championship, defeating Phog Allen’s Kansas 60-42 in the Championship Game in Kansas City. Both legendary programs were making their tournament debut. Indiana’s Marvin Huffman is named Most Outstanding Player

The Akron Firestone Non-Skids repeat as NBL champions, defeating the Oshkosh All-Stars in a rematch of the previous year’s NBL Finals. Oshkosh’s Leroy “Cowboy” Edwards is named league MVP for a third consecutive season while also securing his third consecutive scoring title

1941

North Carolina makes its NCAA Tournament debut, losing 26-20 to Pittsburgh in the East Regional Semifinals

Long Island University wins its second NIT title in three years, defeating Ohio University 56-42 in the Final at Madison Square Garden. Ohio’s Frankie Baumholtz is named tournament MVP

Coached by the legendary Bud Foster, Wisconsin are the champions of the NCAA Tournament, defeating Washington State in the National Final in Kansas City. It’s the first and only title in Wisconsin program history, and the only National Final appearance ever for Washington State. The Badgers’ John Kotz is named Most Outstanding Player

After losing in the first three NBL Finals, the Oshkosh All-Stars finally claim the title with a two-game sweep over the Sheboygan Redskins. Ben Stephens of the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots is named league MVP while Ed Sadowski of the Indianapolis Kautskys is named Rookie of the Year

Due to numerous players being unavailable as they were called to serve in World War II, the Akron Firestone Non-Skids of the NBL cease operations. The team was just one year removed from winning the league title. Their longtime rival, the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, subsequently shut down a year later

1942

Kentucky makes its NCAA Tournament debut. Adolph Rupp’s squad defeats Illinois in the East Regional Semifinals before losing to Dartmouth in the Regional Final

West Virginia wins its first NIT title, defeating Western Kentucky 47-45 in the Final at Madison Square Garden. West Virginia’s Rudy Baric is named tournament MVP

Stanford defeats Dartmouth in the NCAA Tournament National Final, clinching the first and only title in program history. The Cardinals’ Howie Dallmar is named Most Outstanding Player

The Oshkosh All-Stars claim their second consecutive NBL title with a Finals victory over the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons. It’s a fifth straight NBL Finals appearance for Oshkosh, who would not return again until 1949. Bobby McDermott of the Pistons is named league MVP

The National Basketball League (NBL) becomes the first racially integrated major pro basketball league, with 10 Black players joining for the ’42-’43 season. The influx was due in large part to many previously existing players serving in the U.S. military during World War II

1943

St. John’s thrills the home fans with a victory over Toledo in the NIT Final at Madison Square Garden. Harry Boykoff is named tournament MVP

Ken Sailors leads the way (and earns Most Outstanding Player) as Wyoming wins its first and only NCAA Tournament title, defeating Georgetown in the National Final. For the first time, the championship game takes place outside of Kansas City, instead getting played at Madison Square Garden, the traditional home of the rival NIT

The Sheboygan Redskins win their first NBL title, defeating the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons in the Finals. It ends up being the only NBL title in Redskins history, despite making five more Finals appearances. Bobby McDermott of the Pistons is named league MVP for the second straight season

1944

St. John’s wins its second consecutive NIT title, defeating DePaul in the Final at Madison Square Garden. Bill Kotsores is named tournament MVP

Led by Wat Misaka and Most Outstanding Player winner Arnie Ferrin, Utah upsets Dartmouth in the first NCAA Tournament National Final to go to overtime. The Utes had previously participated in the NIT, then were added to the NCAA Tournament field after Arkansas had to withdraw

The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons win their first NBL title, defeating the Sheboygan Redskins in the Finals. Fort Wayne’s Bobby McDermott is named league MVP for the third straight year. Due to numerous franchises folding and/or pausing operations, the ’43-’44 NBL season featured just four teams playing an abbreviated schedule, with the Oshkosh All-Stars and Cleveland Chase Brassmen also participating

In response to the dominance of DePaul’s George Mikan, the NCAA institutes two new rules for the ’44-’45 season: a ban on defensive goaltending, and a three-second violation for offensive players

1945

The concept of a three-point line is used for the first time, as a test during an NCAA game between Columbia and Dartmouth

George Mikan leads DePaul to the NIT title, defeating Bowling Green in the Final at Madison Square Garden. Mikan averages 40.0 points per game, including a 56-point performance in a semifinals win over Rhode Island

Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) are champions of the NCAA Tournament, defeating NYU in the National Final at Madison Square Garden. Bob Kurland is named Most Outstanding Player

Led by four-time league MVP Bobby McDermott, the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons repeat as NBL champions, defeating the Sheboygan Redskins in the Finals