While the consensus on the origin of the sport of basketball places its origin as a sport to Springfield’s James Naismith, there have been a few competing claims over the decades, such as that of Lambert Will of Herkimer, New York. But if one looks at the general concept of putting a bouncy ball through a hoop, the roots of such sport go much deeper in the history of the Americas.
Ahead of the Boston Celtics’ first round tilt with the Atlanta Hawks, Boston’s Jaylen Brown paid homage to those roots in the form of sneakers painted to raise awareness of the Maya or Mesoamerican ball game as a progenitor of sorts for the sport Brown now plays for a living.
Associated with the ancestors of today’s indigenous cultures of what is today Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, the Caribbean, and the US Southwest, the sport bears a clear resemblance to basketball.
The Maya Ballgame “Pok Ta Pok” was a ritual deeply ingrained in the Maya culture. It served much more than being just a sporting event, it was a way of calming disputes and settling arguments which avoided wars. There are many versions of the game. pic.twitter.com/Lp6XhkwYoW
— Dr. Jay (@ChatProLegend76) April 14, 2023