Basketball in England Basketball in England Basketball has a very long history in England, being introduced there by the YMCA almost immediately after it was invented (having been created by the Canadian Dr. James Naismith in 1891 in Massachusetts). World War I and II further spurred its popularity. The four highest profile team sports in the United Kingdom are football, cricket, rugby union and rugby league. Basketball belongs to the next tier alongside ice hockey; it has a dedicated following, but attracts little coverage from the major British media outlets. The elite league is the fully professional British Basketball League, featuring teams from
James Naismith could help its track athletes to keep in shape and explicitly emphasized to "make it fair for all players and not too rough." In his attempt to think up a new game, Naismith was guided by three main thoughts. Firstly, he analyzed the most popular games of those times (rugby, lacrosse, soccer, football, hockey, and baseball); Naismith noticed the hazards of a ball and concluded that the big soft soccer ball was safest. Secondly, he saw that most physical contact occurred while running with the ball, dribbling or hitting it, so he decided that passing was the only legal option.