Tradition and basketball

asketball is not so steeped in tradition as some other games. Just to grab a not-so-random example: In baseball there’s throwing out the first pitch — a tradition that has nothing to do with the playing of the game but is so well known that its use in a classic joke featuring the first lady of the United States tumbling to the turf elicits near-universal laughs with no explanation needed.

The rules of baseball are very much a part of its tradition, too. If our very knowledgeable baseball writers are to be believed, and I think they are, the base set of rules have been much the same for the last hundred and fifty or so years. They probably still keep a fragile, yellowed copy of the original rules in the vault at Major League headquarters. And they probably still use it.

Dynamics and basketball

But basketball is a much more dynamic game. Since the heady days of the 13 original rules, the game has morphed slowly but continuously. Some aspects of the original game, like the mad dash to get to an out of bounds ball, have disappeared entirely. The venerable jump ball, once a staple of the game, now usually happens only to start the game. Although we try to remain true to the spirit of the original game, there has always been an understanding that the game must change to keep pace with the players.

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