James Naismith invented basketball in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He created 13 original rules for the new sport, using two peach baskets and a soccer ball. Over time, aspects of the game evolved, such as replacing the peach baskets with backboards and metal hoops, reducing the number of players to five per team, introducing the jump shot and shot clock. The NBA was formed in 1949 by a merger between the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League. Some of the greatest players ever include Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and LeBron James.