basket ball: The Story of the all-american game

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From BASKET BALL, by Kadir Nelson

“None of us were there in the beginning. That very game, played well over a century ago. It took

place on December 21, 1891, in the old gymnasium at the International YMCA Training School, a religious institute in Springfield, Massachusetts. The ball was made of dark brown leather, and the players—nine on each team—stood midway between two wooden baskets that were nailed to the balconies on either side of the court. The game began with a jump ball tossed up by the game’s inventor, Dr. James Naismith, a physical education teacher from Canada. At the time, he was an instructor who’d been tasked with creating an indoor sport for his “incorrigible” student athletes to play inside during the cold New England winter. The contest lasted thirty minutes, and it ended with a final score of 1 to 0 (each basket was worth one point). When it was over, Dr. Naismith’s students were hooked on the brand-new game, which they later christened basket ball."

Inspired by the game’s evolution and larger-than-life athletes, celebrated artist Kadir Nelson, a former collegiate athlete himself, composed a volume of approximately 40 pages of narrative text and almost sixty original oil paintings that divulge the story of basketball’s progression from its humble beginnings to a worldwide powerhouse. Nelson’s account, written in the sage voice of an elder player, makes note of its mixed history, triumphs, and challenges, not shying away from its segregated and exclusionary roots, and celebrates its diversity and magnitude. It’s an ambitious work that not only celebrates the story and impact of the game, but also its athletic and cultural revolutionaries whose gigantic feats and figures are often–and very intentionally–too large to fit on the canvas. The complete volume is available in a full-color large format picture book published by Little, Brown and Company in January 2026.

The exhibition is comprised of the entirety of the publication’s original hand-painted oil paintings, the artist’s original hand-drawn sketches, basketball artifacts from the artist’s collection, and the artist’s writing and painting materials; an impressive collection spanning 9 years of research, writing, sketching, composing, and painting. Utilizing an understanding of kinetics, the artist notes, “I can fully appreciate how both disciplines [art and athletics] have enriched my understanding of artistic expression, movement, and energy. And particularly for this book, I endeavored to utilize this potent blend of athletic expression and visual and literary art to tell the great story of basketball.” He further notes, “One of the greatest challenges of telling this story was to condense its long history into a mere 100+ pages of combined text and artwork and to create an aesthetic that encompassed both the “Old” and “New Schools” of basketball. To do this, I focused on the game’s origins and followed its professional evolution to present day, while emphasizing the game-changing players and standout teams whose contributions to the game undoubtedly altered its course.”

BASKET BALL is a stunning masterpiece, a visual tour de force, and a beautifully executed comprehensive celebration of the artist’s love for the game.

EXHIBITION HOST INQUIRIES

Customized tour dates for the BASKET BALL exhibition are now available for scheduling. The exhibition will travel nationally before returning to Los Angeles in time for the 2028 Olympics, followed by an international tour thereafter. 

For more information, press inquiries, and/or to discuss reserving a slot on the exhibition tour, please contact: Dr. Jungmiwha Bullock N., General Partner at THE JKBN GROUP | KADIR NELSON, INC. at jungmiwha@thejkbngroup.com, info@thejkbngallery.com. Serious inquiries only.