The history of Olympic basketball

2024-07-03 22:08:54

Founded by physical education teacher James W. Naismith, who wanted his students to play an indoor sport during the winter, basketball quickly became a global sport. It was invented in 1891, but some rules still exist in modern basketball. The first international events were held in the 1920s and the first championship in 1950.

Participated in the Olympic Games since 1936

It wasn’t until 1936 that we saw basketball enter the Berlin Olympics. In 1904, the sport was played as a demonstration sport in St. Louis. As for women’s basketball, it only appeared in the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976.

America crushes competition

Of all the Olympic Games held, Uncle Sam’s country has won 16 out of 20 Olympic Games for men and 9 out of 12 Olympic Games for women. In men’s basketball, the Soviet Union (2), Serbia and Argentina ultimately won the gold medal. In the women’s category, the Russian team won the championship (3 times), while the American team did not succeed. France won three silver medals in the men’s competition and ranked sixth, behind Spain and ahead of Italy. On the women’s side, the Blues ranked fourth, winning 1 silver medal and 1 bronze medal.

Imagine if England had sent a band to the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest consisting of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zep and a kid who was just starting out.
That’s what Team USA did in the 1992 Olympic basketball game.
The greatest sports team of all time. pic.twitter.com/G9eAvZq1xU

— The Beatles Legacy (@TheBeatlesPMcC) July 30, 2023