Dribbling Was Not Originally Allowed in Basketball

The modern game of basketball would be unrecognizable to its inventor in one crucial way: players were originally forbidden from dribbling. In James Naismith's original rules, players had to throw the ball from the spot where they caught it without moving their feet. This made the game much more static and deliberate. The first players to be allowed to advance the ball by a single dribble played at Yale in 1897. This experimental rule change was officially adopted by the sport about four years later. The introduction of dribbling transformed basketball from a passing game into the dynamic, fast-paced sport we know today. Without dribbling, crossovers, behind-the-back moves, and ankle-breaking handles would never have existed.