Basketball in New Zealand Basketball in New Zealand The sport of basketball was first played in New Zealand in 1908. When basketball invented by the Canadian Dr James Naismith in 1891 it had failed to reach New Zealand until the early 1900s. A former Naismith student, J. H. Greenwood, introduced basketball to New Zealand when he was appointed physical director of the Wellington branch of the YMCA in 1908. The sport was called indoor basketball to avoid confusion with the English offshoot of basketball played by females outdoors. New Zealand women's basketball was renamed netball in 1970. The YMCA spread the game from the
Jason Naismith Jason Naismith Jason Naismith (born 25 June 1994) is a Scottish professional footballer, who plays as a defender for EFL League One club Peterborough United. Naismith has previously played for St Mirren, Greenock Morton, Cowdenbeath and Ross County. He has also represented Scotland in youth internationals, including one game at under-21 level. Naismith was born in Paisley. A member of St Mirren's under-19 squad, Naismith made his first team debut as a substitute on 25 February 2012 against Aberdeen in the Scottish Premier League. In May 2012, Naismith was loaned out to Greenock Morton for six months. In doing so