At the YMCA training school in Springfield, Massachusetts, James Naismith invented a new indoor game. He asked a janitor to find two boxes to use as goals. The janitor brought him two peach baskets instead. They were hung about 10 feet above the floor. The ball was a soccer ball. The first game was played in December 1891.
After each score, someone had to get the ball out of the basket. The game kept the name of the object at hand: basketball.