Basketball was created 115 years ago by Dr. James Naismith. When he created the sport, he developed a set of 13 rules that gave birth to the game of basketball. However, basketball was not as we knew it back then. For example, goals were once peach baskets nailed 10 feet high and dribbling the ball was not part of the original game. Basketball was an immediate success. The popularity of the new sport quickly grew nationally and was introduced to many countries. Naismith never got to see the game evolve into what it is today. However, he saw it become an Olympic sport at the 1936 Games in Berlin. There was no shot clock when the game was invented so players could hold and pass the ball as long as they wanted. But in 1954, the National Basketball Association introduced the shot clock. Each team had 24 seconds to shoot the ball. In 1967, the three-point shot was invented. Players who shot the ball from outside of an arc marked on the court 23 feet from the rim would score 3 points. Almost every team plays pressure defense. Half a century ago, basketball was a game built around two-handed set shots and referees considered touching another player a foul. At first, the basketball goal was a wooden peach basket suspended ten feet above the ground. Players had to use a ladder to remove the ball from the basket after each successful shot. Metal ledges with nets have replaced wooden baskets. Players drilled holes in the nets in 1906 so the ball could pass through the hoop. When basketball was first played, players used a soccer ball. Three years later, Naismith contacted AG Spalding & Bros. and requested that their factory produce a new ball specifically for basketball. Factory produced molded basketballs with a consistent mid-paper......personal fouls, and when one team scores, the other team gains possession of the ball. During the 1988-89 season, a rule change took place which increased the number of referees officiating matches from two to three. During the 1992-93 season, a rule was established that when the basketball touched the rim, the 24-second clock would reset. During the 2004–05 season, new rules were introduced for hand checking, calling three defensive seconds, and clarifying blocking fouls. Many changes have also taken place in college basketball. The initial rules of the NCAA are basically the same as those of the NBA. During the 1967-68 season, dunks were banned during warmups and games. In 1976-77, the dunk became legal again in college. A three-point shot was introduced at 19'9'' in the 1986-87 season. There have been many rule changes in professional and college basketball, but here are a few that stood out to me..