ANCIENT ORIGINS

US TEAM THAT MAKES HOPES OF GOLD A DREAM FOR THE REST

Little could Dr James Naismith, a Canadian, have realised when he nailed two peach baskets to a balcony to entertain students at the YMCA in 1891 that his inspiration would not only become a game played by 100 million people worldwide but provide some of the most lucrative pay packets in the world of sport.

The US men's "dream teams" of 1992 and 1996 provided a fitting tribute to the good doctor but hardly to the Olympic ideal as multimillionaires such as Earvin "Magic" Johnson added gold medals to their golden fortunes.

From the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1892, the game spread rapidly around the globe. Today it enjoys a vast membership in 208 countries, though the US remains the dominant force in the game that it adopted as a competitive sport just three years after the good doctor's inspiration. The first professional league was formed in 1898 and basketball joined the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 just four years after the formation of the International basketball federation (Fiba).

The US, at least among men, is expected to provide another winning dream team of heavily paid professionals to win again in Sydney.