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International Basketball HistoryWhere else besides the USABefore the creation of the NBA in 1946, Basketball had become a worldwide phenomenon. Children and adults all over the world were given the opportunity to learn and play the sport. Players with natural talent began to pop up across the globe, and fans were filling the stands to watch. In fact, basketball was so popular internationally that the International Olympic Committee recognized it as a sport in 1930. In 1932, the International Basketball Federation, called FIBA, was formed in Geneva to act as an international governing body over the sport at the world level. FIBA divided the world into five regions: FIBAAfrica, FIBAAmericas, FIBAAsia, FIBAEurope, and FIBA Oceania. The teams in each region play against each other and receive points for their wins. The teams that have the highest points in each region after several draws compete for the FIBA World Championship. After basketball was included in the Olympics in 1932, FIBA teams also began to compete for the Olympic gold metal honor. In the 2004 Olympics, the USA women’s team took gold while Argentina won the gold for the men’s side.In the 1990’s, the NBA realized the wealth of talent in other countries and began to use it to their advantage. Players from all over the world started to appear in American courts, and many of them were very successful. Today, many of these players are some of the leagues biggest stars. Steve Nash, an MVP in 2005 and 2006, was born in South Africa and moved to a Canada as a baby. Vlade Divac, originally from Serbia, played in the NBA from 1989 until his retirement in 2005. Other international players include Kobe Bryant (born in the US, but a long-time resident of Italy) and Vladimir Radmonovic of the Los Angeles Lakers and Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets. In the 2007/08 season, the NBA has more than 70 foreign players on the basketball court.
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