The Evolution of Basketball's Popularity

Basketball currently sits as one of the ten most popular sports in the entire world, with over 800 million fans of the game! It only continues to expand and grow on other continents, with the Basketball Africa League, and pro leagues in Australia, Europe, and Asia.

It’s crazy that basketball isn’t even 200 years old yet. The game was invented in 1891, and it was so wildly different back then. Take a look at the original rules of the game here.

By 1950, the NBA had been born, but basketball had gained no popularity outside of the U.S.

By the mid-1980s though?

Magic Johnson and Larry Bird had taken the game to a whole new level. And then Michael Jordan came along and took the game overseas.

After that, new leagues began popping up everyone, and basketball’s popularity soared.

We have the pioneers of the game to thank for all the interest in the sport and the new leagues and teams…

Just like the Raleigh Firebirds of The Basketball League!

As much as we keep love looking forward to the future (where we’ll be winning the 2024 TBL championship), it’s just as important to acknowledge the game’s roots.

-Tex