Sports
Intro to the U.S.
Basketball
Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith, a teacher at a YMCA training school in Springfield, Massachusetts. Due to its simple equipment requirements, indoor play, competitiveness, and easily understood rules, the game gained popularity quickly. Basketball, as a team sport, is now played by more than 250 million people worldwide, as well as by countless others in "pick-up" games.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the major professional basketball league in the world, with teams from the United States and Canada. The NBA now has 29 teams competing in two conferences, the Eastern and Western, in four separate divisions. In the second week of February, the NBA interrupts its season to celebrate the annual All-Star game, featuring the game's best players as selected by fans throughout the United States and Canada. In a fan poll, Michael Jordan was voted the greatest player in NBA history. At the end of the season, the champions from the Eastern and Western conferences meet in a best-of-seven series to determine the NBA champion.
More than 200 national federations belong to FIBA, the Federation of International Basketball, an independent organization that governs international basketball. In 1992, professional players were first allowed to compete in the Olympics, and a Dream Team, made up of the NBA's best players, was assembled.
See Also America.Gov/Games
Michael Jordan - One of Basketball's Greatest
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| Jordan leans in for a dunk. (Photo by Jerry Wachter/NBAE/Getty Images) |
By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. Although, a summary of his basketball career and influence on the game inevitably fails to do it justice, as a phenomenal athlete with a unique combination of grace, speed, power, artistry, improvisational ability and an unquenchable competitive desire, Jordan single-handedly redefined the NBA superstar.
Even contemporaneous superstars recognized the unparalleled position of Jordan. Magic Johnson said, "There's Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us." Larry Bird, following a playoff game where Jordan dropped 63 points on the Boston Celtics in just his second season, appraisal of the young player was: "God disguised as Michael Jordan."
A brief listing of his top accomplishments would include the following: Rookie of the Year; Five-time NBA MVP; Six-time NBA champion; Six-time NBA Finals MVP; Ten-time All-NBA First Team; Nine time NBA All-Defensive First Team; Defensive Player of the Year; 14-time NBA All-Star; Three-time NBA All-Star MVP; 50th Anniversary All-Time Team; Ten scoring titles -- an NBA record and seven consecutive matching Wilt Chamberlain; Retired with the NBA's highest scoring average of 30.1ppg.
(Source: the NBA's website)
Learn More about Michael Jordan
NBA articles and info on Michael Jordan >> (articles)
Complete Stats >> (statistics)
Career Retrospective >> (articles)