Dr. James Naismith, an Ontario, Canada native, invented basketball back in 1892. Though he came up with the game while working at Springfield College in Massachusetts, Naismith’s roots are firmly Canadian.
DeMar DeRozan recently teamed up with Foot Locker to celebrate Dr. Naismith. The beginning of Deebo’s year-long partnership with Foot Locker is marked by the video above, called “Original Basketball.” The Raptors superstar picks up a whistle to referee a game played with a group of Canadian hoopers from CIA Bounce, the top Canadian basketball program. The game was played with the original 13 rules of basketball that Naismith wrote way back when, including no dribbling.
“Basketball is back and I’m partnering with Foot Locker to get fans here in Canada excited,” said DeRozan, via press release. “Relearning the game by its original rules and then trying my hand at refereeing was hysterical. For me, the strangest rule is that you can’t dribble; you have to shoot or pass once you catch the ball.”
Peep the video above.
Video courtesy of Foot Locker
