Dedicated to Canadian-American physician James Naismith, who invented the sport in Springfield, the Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1959, before opening its first facility on February 17, 1968.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame was established in 1959, without a physical location, by Lee Williams, a former athletic director at Colby College.

However, the necessary amount was raised, and the building opened on February 17, 1968,[1] less than a month after the National Basketball Association played its 18th All-Star Game.

The Tip-Off Classic has been the start to the college basketball season ever since, and although it does not always take place in Springfield, Massachusetts, generally it returns every few years.

[3] In the 17 years that the original Basketball Hall of Fame operated at Springfield College, it drew over 630,000 visitors.

[3] In 2002, the Basketball Hall of Fame moved again[5]—albeit merely 100 yards south along Springfield's riverfront—into a $47 million facility designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates.

The building's architecture features a metallic silver, basketball-shaped sphere flanked by two similarly symmetrical rhombuses.

Inside the building there are a game gallery, many interactive exhibits, several theaters, and an honor ring of inductees.

For example, the 24-second shot-clock had two developers for the National Basketball Association in Leo Ferris and Danny Biasone, but only the latter has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

[16] Tim Hardaway is one player noted as being snubbed from the Hall for a long time, possibly due to his past negative comments on the LGBT community despite support from peers involving his playing credentials; he was inducted in 2022.

[17] Nine of the ten NCAA Division I head coaches who won 800 games are currently in the Hall of Fame, with Cliff Ellis (894 wins) being the only exception.

Leta Andrews, the all-time winningest coach in the United States (1,416 wins), has been a finalist five times but never inducted.

[19] Ken Anderson, holder of the third-highest winning percentage for all college basketball coaches in history, has not been inducted.

The Basketball Hall of Fame is very independent of its baseball and football counterparts, specifically for its induction and voting process.

Naismith invented this game for everyone: men, women, high school, college, pro, coaches, players.