How Basketball was Invented - And Almost Destroyed

The NBA is a $14 billion empire today. But there was a moment when the league was days away from shutting its doors forever. Finals on tape delay at midnight. Arenas half empty. Players battling addiction. A secret meeting about killing five franchises. This is Part 1 — the full story of how basketball was born in a Massachusetts gymnasium in 1891 with two peach baskets and a soccer ball. How George Mikan became the first superstar. How Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain built the greatest rivalry the sport had ever seen. How Dr. J and the ABA changed the game forever. And how the league nearly collapsed under drugs, empty arenas, and a country that stopped caring. Part 2 drops soon — the story of how Magic, Bird, Stern, and Jordan saved it all. Sources: NBA.com, Basketball Reference, History.com, Springfield College Archives, Britannica