Netball has finally become one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, something that has been long overdue for a sport that is over a century old, with major events and championships being seen by a bigger audience than ever before.
The origins of netball come from the early development of basketball, and some of the most fundamental parts of the sport emerged as much by accident as by design.
When Clara Baer asked James Naismith for a copy of the rules of basketball, she interpreted one of his diagrams of the basketball court not as a description of optimal tactics but instead as rigid restrictions, creating the zoning system that characterises netball as we know it.
However, even in these early days when netball was known as “basquette” and had not been standardised, it was innovating in a way that would take ages for basketball to adopt.
Ms Baer’s rules described shooting with a single hand and the jump shot, both important parts of netball from the very start but only incorporated into basketball in the 1930s, nearly half a century after first being written about.
This highlights how both sports evolved alongside each other, sharing innovation and inspiration. This tradition continued long after both sports solidified, professionalised and the WNBA formed.
Netball and Women’s basketball are distinct games but the focus on shooting and passing as opposed to slam dunks in the WNBA is arguably more similar to the former than the NBA, particularly since the latter’s eight-second backcourt rule is not in effect.
The jump shot is used in both, innovated in netball to allow for impressive contested shots without a backboard but used in basketball to attempt shots both in and out of the arch.
Finally, and most fundamentally, the rise of netball inspired more team-focused basketball tactics, as opposed to a reliance on a star player.
This was seen in the WNBA’s championship-winning Phoenix Mercury, and the “Seven Seconds or Less” Phoenix Suns in the NBA. Both teams relied on fast-paced team-focused passing play more reminiscent of netball than basketball as it was played at the time.
With netball reaching heights and audiences it never has before, it will be interesting to see how influential netball will be in the years to come.