The first basketball hoops had no hole in the bottom

Because the original goals were literal peach baskets with their bottoms still intact, the ball stayed put after every successful shot. Each made basket halted the game so the janitor could climb a ladder and retrieve the ball before play resumed - a charming but tedious ritual in James Naismith’s 1891 game.

Early fixes were improvised. Players sometimes poked the ball back out with a long dowel or pole, and some setups added a small hole and a chain so the ball could be flicked free without a full stop. Eventually the bottoms of the baskets were removed entirely, letting the ball fall straight through.

That simple change set the template for the modern open hoop and net. The net we know today keeps a hint of the old design - it briefly catches the ball to confirm the score before dropping it back to the court, a quiet echo of those bottomed-out fruit baskets.