Everyone loves games. This commonality is one of the defining qualities of human beings, as people are hardwired to be competitive and relish in their successes. Even more captivating, perhaps, is the disappointment of losing, as it fills us with a fervent and even angry determination not to repeat the mistakes that allowed victory to slyly elude our grasp. Humans’ favorites games are, without a doubt, sports, as their physical dynamic and “spectacle” quality warrant an unmatched exhilaration for both viewers and players. The most unifying of these sports is basketball. Basketball is a “link” among people simply because so many people love it and can play it. Rich and poor, black and white, young and old, people everywhere love basketball. Additionally, it is the most popularly played sport in the United States, partly due to the fact that all it requires is a ball and a hoop. More importantly, however, is the sport’s unique quality of “impactability.”. Since a standard basketball team only has five players on the floor at a time, a number that hails in comparison to nearly every other sport on the globe, the ability of one or a few players to have a profound impact on the game is greatly magnified. This quality is one that makes basketball very likeable among a wide scope of people, as players can be very much involved in a team effort while also making a profound impact on the game themselves. This seemingly paradoxical pairing of individuality and teamwork coupled with the diverse popularity of the sport has prompted me to study a “story” within basketball to illustrate a paradigm shift. The thread I plan to follow will be a medium by which many essences of humanity and American culture specifically can be illuminated. This story will track the evolution of the game of basketball at the professional level in the United States, particularly in the NBA. The primary question on which I will base my research is, “How did the way the game of basketball is played at the NBA level evolve from the league’s origin to yield the well-rounded game we see today in the context of both formal rule changes and unwritten developments of playing style; was this paradigm shift primarily prompted by rapidly fluctuating and diverging styles of play, or rather by a steady trend marked by a uniform progression toward the modern game?”

The game of basketball is one like no other, and it is especially meaningful to me, as I made some of my best memories and learned some of my toughest, most valuable lessons while playing for my high school team. Basketball demands an unmatched combination of enjoyment and toughness; it is one of the fastest-paced and highest scoring sports, which warrant feelings of intensity and exhilaration that are unequaled by any other game. Additionally, the sport accentuates a variety of intense athletic skills, often coupling opposites like endurance and quick muscle movements; these unique combinations formulate a particular definition of “challenging” in the sports world. Another aspect of the game that separates it from others is its malleability. The game was “made to change” as it very much originated as an adaptation to limited indoor circumstances. The game of basketball in the NBA is vastly different from the way it was at its beginning, and it will continue to evolve in gargantuan ways into the decades that follow. This continuous change and assimilation to the needs and desires of each new generation is very much an accepted part of the game, especially at the professional level. This is another aspect of basketball that makes it unique, as many sports, such as baseball, do not share this adaptability and often clash with change in a manner of disapproval or through an ineffective attempt to “modernize” the game. The unique levels of challenge and thrill basketball offers blended with its remarkable ability to change as its patrons and fans see fit make the sport heavily reflective of American culture. Our people is one of innovation, one of perseverance, and one of acceptance, all tenets that are at play within the game of basketball. For these reasons, the game is very much worth studying, and a look at the shift in the way basketball is played at the NBA level is sure to illuminate a bigger picture of American culture and the values which it endorses.

I plan to begin my “story” with the birth of the NBA in 1946, as it quickly became the premier league in the United States and has remained so to this day. I intend to relate the evolution of play in the NBA through a variety of mediums, but the quintessential method I will employ to track this development will be by relating the stories of individual dynasties and stars. By “dynasties” I am referring to teams throughout history that dominated the league for at least a few years, typically winning several championships. By “stars” I am simply referring to the individual players throughout the ages that asserted themselves as all-time greats. I believe these two components of the NBA are integral in detailing the evolution of the game, as the way the game changes, the way an entire league adapts their style of play, is based heavily on “what is working”, or the practices of the people who are winning. Tracking the development of basketball by these means is practical because it provides a chronological timeline of the sport’s progression. Stars and dynasties are linked to eras, thus by following the rise and fall of different players and franchises, I will be able to paint a sensible and sequential picture of how the game has evolved. Another advantage to exploring these concepts, particularly in the heydays of different stars, references an assertion I made earlier. Individual players can make greater impacts in basketball than they can in any other sport due to the limited number of players on the floor and in the league. Thus, the NBA offers a lense that most other professional sports leagues don’t in the fluctuation of different styles of play due to the success of specific players.

I believe that a fascinating paradigm shift is embedded in the very existence of the NBA, a league that people around the world love so well. The game of basketball welcomes change by nature, and change it has. From humble beginnings in 1946 to perhaps the most diverse and multifaceted professional sports game in the world today, the league has prospered in dynasties of stars and superteams, directional trends that favor one fundamental style over another, rapid fluctuations in pace and amount of scoring, and league experiments with rule changes and innovative additions. There is an ocean of smaller developments by which to track the evolution of the game as a whole, and I am intent on conducting thorough research and a contemplative analysis of these many facets to paint an informative picture of this progression. In detailing this paradigm shift, I will be doing more than just tracking the development of a game, however. I will be taking an in depth look at the unique culture that is basketball, a culture of unity, uniqueness, and adaptability that is reflected heavily in the NBA. The game of basketball, especially in this elite league, is one that requires grit and skill, individuality and comradery, and diversity and conformity. By evaluating a game molded out of these far-reaching qualities, I will be tracking the evolution and hidden elements of an entire culture itself.