1Basketball was invented in eighteen ninety one by a Canadian sports teacher named James Naismith.
2He wanted an indoor game to keep his students active during the long, freezing winters.
3The very first game used a football and two peach baskets fixed high on the gym balcony.
4Today, the sport is played by millions of people in more than two hundred countries worldwide.
5The professional league in America attracts the finest players from every corner of the globe.
6Brilliant stars from Europe, Africa, and Australia have completely changed how the modern game is played.
7In many big cities, the outdoor courts stay busy from early morning until late at night.
8Street basketball has developed its own style, its own unwritten rules, and its own local heroes.
9The game needs very little equipment, which is one important reason for its enormous worldwide popularity.
10From a small school gym to the Olympic final, basketball has travelled a truly extraordinary distance.