Discrimination In Basketball History

December 21, 1891- The birth of basketball. It has been changed from simply shooting a soccer ball into a peach basket to dunking a seven pound, leather ball into an iron rim. In the early years of the game, basketball was not as popular as other sports. In the 1985 NBA draft all this would change with the emergence of a 6'6" basketball phenomenon from Wilmington, North Carolina. Although going third in the draft, he recreated the game and is known as the best player to ever touch a basketball; he is Michael Jordan.

The book “Last Shot” shows what a basketball game is really about. It doesn't just show you the game and who wins; It shows you how all the competitors need to prepare immensely to attempt to win. It shows you how the players could throw everything away with their grades or selling team merchandise for a maximum profit. During the read of this book, you are Stevie Thomas, teen writing contest winner. You get to experience the time of your life (at least from his perspective), which is going and reporting at the Men’s Basketball NCAA Tournament Final Four. You discover what the reporters have to go through and maybe what the players are told to do. Basketball is much more than just the game, it’s life.

The NBA has helped make basketball one of the most popular sports in the world. A large reason why basketball became popular is because of the stars they changed the game like Michael Jordan and Julius Erving.

The savior for the NBA emerged in the form of Danny Biasone, who instituted the 24-second shot clock that most agree, saved the league. The 1954-55 seasons was the first played with the shot clock, and the results were a more wide open style of play far more attractive to television viewers. The NBA has been selected for this study to determine how television coverage changed mass media coverage of basketball and the way the viewers perceived the game.

Sports Illustrated, Endgame entertainment, and HBO asked Americans why different games and memorable moments in sports touched their lives. Thousands of fans responded with their incredible stories (Sport in America: Our Defining Stories). The film shows personal stories from fans across the country who have witnessed sports most extraordinary events. The film tells the world about memorable events in American sports, such as baseball, tennis, football, hockey, boxing, basketball, high school athletics, the Boston marathon, and the Olympic games. Sports fans will smile and agree when they hear the movie say,” fans hold their breath, lose themselves, and when that moment they witnessed is over, they will remember it for the rest of their lives. Great sports moments become a part of people 's lives as they see brave athletes, biggest upsets, strongest rivals, and who has the most heart (Sport in America: Our Defining Stories).” It doesn 't matter how long ago the memory was, fans remember and share their stories about the memorable moments in sports history forever. The film shows people why and how special

“You can’t always be the strongest or most talented person in the room, but you can be the most comparative.” This was a famous saying from basketball player, Pat Summitt. The early 1990’s was both a great and not so great time for women’s athletics. There were some very athletic women who didn’t get enough credit because they were judged by playing sports; it made them not “attractive.” The NBA approved the proposal to begin the WNBA in June 1997 (Valois). Many important things happened in the 90’s that made the WNBA what it is today.

Although men and women’s basketball are closer to being equal than softball and baseball, the leagues are still separate. America has a women’s league and a men’s league and never the two shall meet. A woman is not allowed in the NBA since she has the WNBA. The separation is strong, obvious, and seemingly permanent. Like basketball, they created softball to play indoors during the winter. The game earned the name softball and due to its easier properties was often “regarded as baseball’s stepchild” (Ring, p. 60). They passed the game down to women, as it seemed safe enough to limit the risk of injury. And so the separation began.

The Women’s National Basketball Association, more commonly known as the WNBA, is a professional basketball league consisting of 12 teams spanning across the United States. The league was founded in 1996 but didn’t officially kick off until 1997. While it’s not the first major women’s professional basketball league in the United States, the WNBA is the only league that has received full backing from the National Basketball Association, more commonly, the NBA. Now in its 20th season under the direction of league president Lisa Borders, the regular season is played from June to September with the playoffs spanning through the remainder of September into the middle of October. Although they have the full backing from the NBA, there are still a few discrepancies between the two leagues. Even though WNBA games are not as exciting as NBA games, the players of the WNBA deserve equal pay because the team mindset makes the game more challenging, players continue to show their hard work in the offseason by playing overseas, and they inspire young girls by providing for charities as a result of their work.

“According anywhere from Australia to the United States and everywhere in between the game of basketball is played.” (Faurschou, “History of basketball”). The game is played anywhere where you can get a ball and something to throw the ball through. “G.L Pierce patented basketball on June 25, 1929.” (Bellis, “Basketball-James Naismith”). Basketball became an official Olympic sport in the 1936 game.

On April 24, 1996, women’s basketball announced “We Got Next” as the NBA Board of Governors approved the concept of a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) to begin in June 1997. Since that day in 1996 there have been many firsts for the WNBA: Val Ackerman -- the first president of the WNBA; Sheryl Swoopes -- the first player signed to the WNBA; Cynthia Cooper -- the league’s first Most Valuable Player; the Houston Comets -- the first WNBA Champions; Lisa Leslie -- the first WNBA player to capture all three MVP awards (regular season, All-Star and Championship) in one season.

The game of basketball is recognizable high school or the NBA. The sport is very popular and is played worldwide. Everyone may also know the sport from some names of basketball stars. Maybe the names Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Dr. J, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, or Carmelo Anthony ring a bell. They are all outstanding players of the game and have a significant understanding of how the game is played. Basketball has changed alot overtime and has become one of Americas most played sports.

The 1972 Olympics basketball finals in Munich remains one of the most controversial Olympic games in history. Controversies of this match took both a sporting and political angle at the time because the two finalists, team USA and team USSR, came from a background of political competitions by virtue of them being the two most powerful nations on earth. The controversy happened in three “final three seconds.” Whatever happened to the medals remain equally controversial.

The announcement of the WNBA came with mixed regards. There were those who thought that it took the United States long enough, and there were those who did

’ll Always remember the time when the cleveland cavaliers won their first nba championship series in a long time. The golden state warriors were leading the series and the cavaliers were losing. In the last game of the series was when history was made. The cleveland cavaliers made the greatest comeback in nba history. The reason i like basketball is because it is fun,competitive and it’s good for your health.

One unknown to the game of basketball will assume Michael Jordan changed the game, or at least the one who made the game famous. However, before the ‘Gifted MJ’ there was one of the greatest rivalries in basketball, which raised television ratings, ergo, helped make the sport prominent. Magic Johnson and Larry bird’s rivalry was a sight to see. Magic and Bird’s contribution to basketball varies, their training techniques and personal life has led both of them to make phenomenal sport history, and everlasting legacies.