Ok, I just don't get what the big deal is. FIBA game and NBA game have coexisted without a lot of trouble. The game of basketball belongs to present and future people who play it, not to a single nation/country, not to the Naismith family... wouldn't it be nice if the Naismiths owned the rules?
some facts:
Althought FIBA was founded in 1932, the first WC was played in 1950. The first NBA season was 49-50, so the first NBA finals were played in april, while the first FIBA WC was played in november, the same year.
The first Eurobasket was played in 1935, in Geneva. Meanwhile, the American Basket League ruled in
America, sorry, in the USA.
The original diference is not about age or seniority, but about the professional vs. amateur approach to the game. The world's economy has evolved, and since the 80s, althought under different rules and model, basketball is a global professional game, just like football(soccer) or the US main sports, or Aussie's... even rugby was caught under this process.
The only reason FIBA adopts NBA rules is because NBA is not only the most watched, but the best basketball league worldwide. Eventually, if European basketball, or Chinese basketball, or African basketball evolve to catch up with NBA (maybe in 50 or 150 years, if they still play basketball), or even surpass it, NBA will adopt foreign rules.
Hooligan, you should be proud about the NBA being the best bball league in the world right now, not about Mr. Naismith. And it's not the world vs. USA, it's just that everybody wants to play with the best and try to beat them. Naismith's legacy became universal, it's not in the US DNA, not in the blood. That line of thinking belongs to the Ancien Regime, they thought there was only some people (the rightly born ones) who deserved some privileges. In this case, we would be talking about the right to change the rules of bball. I can't believe you think people from the USA have more rights than people from other countries, in any aspect of life, even something superficial like bball rules.
I like the Celtics more than any other basketball team, because they play a team game, look for the extra pass, but also play good defense. They represent the best of both the FIBA and the NBA, and I guess that's why Herr Stern and ESPN-Nike et al, dislike the Green Machine. The NBA and its rules have evolved to maximize the game of basket hero-super-hyper-mega stars (no handchecking, star privileged treatment by the refs...), producing highlight plays, leading to who is the greatest star debates, rankings, gear selling competitions... The ultimate entertainment-business sports model. The Celtics are genuine, they're not just "another team". That's why we all bleed green.
We don't have to agree about everything, but the best way to be respected is to show respect... it all starts with treating everyone else as your equals, no matter if they come from Sweden or Sudan.