[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

How is hanging on the rim related to the game? I understand making a dunk, but hanging on for a long time is showing off, and is not an effective form of defense.

Damage to the rings/backboards, and injuries to the players.

Throughout the history of the game of basketball, certain players have held enormous physical advantages that completely changed the way the game was played on both offense and defense. These players were so dominant that they caused many rule changes, rule changes that were supposed to reduce the dominance of these gifted players to make their style of play a bit fairer to other players. Most of these rule changes were originally instituted in NCAA, or NBA games, but these changes eventually trickled down to NFHS rules.

When Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) (UCLA 1966-1969, NBA 1969-1989) started playing basketball for UCLA Bruins, NCAA officials felt that the seven foot, two inch All-American center, being especially tall and athletic, could place the ball over the rim and throw it through the hoop with ease. This feat of athleticism which we all know as the dunk and seems so routine was not so routine back in the mid-1960’s. It was considered unfair that he could do it so easily. So the NCAA banned dunking in 1967. This was called the “Alcindor Rule”. Another reason dunking was outlawed was to prevent injury and equipment damage. A distorted rim could delay a game. As a result of the rule, Alcindor developed a great hook shot, the “Sky Hook”, which he used effectively during his playing days in college, and in the NBA. After multiple issues with the new rule and the invention of the breakaway rim the NCAA allowed the dunk to be legal again during 1976-1977 season which was shortly after UCLA Coach John Wooden's retirement. The “Alcindor Rule” eventually trickled down to NFHS rules. In 1967, the NFHS banned dunking in high school basketball games. In 1970, the NFHS also prohibited dunking during pregame warmups. Like the NCAA, the NFHS reversed itself in 1976 and a rule change allowed dunking during the game but not during pregame warmups, nor during intermissions, and with a later rule change in 1978 outlawing dunking a dead ball.

Darryl Dawkins (NBA 1975-1989), the Philadelphia 76ers six foot, eleven inch, 251 pound center, in a game against the Kansas City Kings at Municipal Auditorium on November 13, 1979 dunked and broke the backboard sending the King’s Bill Robinzine ducking away. Three weeks later he did it again, this time at home against the San Antonio Spurs at the Spectrum. Thus, Dawkins became famous for his backboard shattering dunks and is credited for being the player to cause the NBA to introduce breakaway rims. Breakaway rims are now an essential element of the game of basketball. A broken backboard or distorted rim could delay a game for hours. In 1981 the NFHS adopted specifications for breakaway rims.

Shaquille O'Neal (LSU 1989-1992, NBA 1992-2011) a seven foot, one inch, 325 pound center, was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA. O'Neal dunked with so much power that he broke the steel supports holding backboards during games against the New Jersey Nets and the Phoenix Suns while playing for the Orlando Magic during the 1992–93 NBA season. This prompted the NBA to increase the strength and stability of the backboard supports and change the stanchion design for the following 1993–94 season. The NFHS added backboard support specifications to the rules in 1996-97.