Interesting facts about basketball

1. Ancient Indians had it a game called “Pock-ta-Pock”, which was part of the ritual sacrifice. A rubber ball was used for the game, which had to be thrown into a ring carved into the wall. The rules prohibited playing with hands and feet (see video below). The winning team was sacrificed to the gods at the endwhich was considered honorable for the players.
2. A basketball uniform consists of sleeveless shirt and shorts. In 2013, the NBA funded a new style by adding sleeves to the jerseys, making them look like T-shirts. Fans were outraged by such changes, so in 2017, when Nike signed a contract with the NBA for new uniforms and promised to return to the sleeveless classic, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
3. Peach baskets, the bottom of which was closed until 1913, are considered the first basketball baskets. Precisely because the very first basketball hoops were not open, after each thrown ball the referee climbed the ladder to get it. The shield behind the basket appeared to prevent the ball from hitting the fans’ balcony.
4. The rules of playing basketball in different countries sometimes differ. North Korea is known for its unusual scoring methods. In the classic form, if a player hits the ring from a long distance, he will receive 3 points, from a normal shot – 2, from the penalty line – 1. In Korea, it is different: a shot from the game in the last three minutes of the match brings 8 points; if the ball does not touch the ring during the “three-point shot”, 4 points are counted; one point is deducted for an inaccurate free throw; three points are awarded for a dunk.
5. Soviet basketball player Yanis Kruminsh, born in Latvia, started playing basketball professionally only at the age of 23. And already at the age of 25 he became the champion of the USSR, and at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne he won his first silver. The coach convinced Janis to play basketball instead of working in forestry, and he was right.
6. In 1992, Lithuania did not have enough funds to send athletes to the Olympics. Then the search for sponsors to pay for the move continued. Unexpected the offer came from the Grateful Dead rock band. In addition, the band gave the team the rights to use T-shirts with their logo. Although it was not a game uniform, the players wore them to the bronze medal ceremony.
7. In 1974 basketball player Pete Maravich predicted his death in one of the interviews, where he said that he did not want to play in the NBA for 10 years, and die of a heart attack at 40. Unfortunately, it turned out that way: in 1980, Maravich ended his career after 10 seasons of basketball matches, and in 1988, when the athlete was 40, he died of a heart attack while playing with friends.
8. In 1996, Michael Jordan took part in the filming of the comedy “Space Jam”, where he played himself along with 5 famous NBA basketball players and cartoon characters. At the box office, the film collected about 230 million dollars. The title of the film comes from basketball slang: jam means overhead shot. And in 2021, the film was released “Space Jam: New Legends” starring LeBron James.
9. In the middle of the last century, basketball was considered an elite game, for status and wealthy people. At the peak of its development, a radically new, unique variety was born in the poor quarters of American cities – streetball. For this game, any flat surface made of a suitable material, on which a special marking is drawn, is enough.

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