But it wasn’t until Larry Bird and Magic Johnson ignited a legendary rivalry in the 1980s that the NBA became a stable and profitable property The contests between Johnson’s Lakers and Bird’s Celtics became the stuff of legend Then Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls took the league to a whole new level in the 1990s
Meanwhile basketball’s popularity was spreading More and more athletes were playing the sport around the world and they started joining the NBA in greater numbers At the same time women’s basketball was taking off Following new laws in the 1970s girls had greater access to play school sports In 1997 the Women’s National Basketball Association WNBA launched as a new league to build on that growth It became the first women’s pro league to stick around A new generation of iconic players took over after 2000 including Kobe Bryant Yao Ming and LeBron James The NBA continued to expand its fan base to nearly every corner of the world Now 30 teams strong the NBA looks to the future with hardwood heroes such as Kevin Durant Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry leading the way
VU Exciting players such as the Toronto Raptors DeMar DeRozan are part of the next wave of young NBA stars
Millions of people have played the game since its invention more than a century ago Thousands have risen through the ranks of the NBA the unquestioned top league in the world The very best of those players are inducted as members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield Massachusetts The way basketball is played has evolved in countless ways since those peach baskets were first hung in 1891 But the object of the game remains the same as it did then to get the ball down the court and put it in the basket
