In the earlier days, basketball was a rougher sport. That is because rules for the ball were different from now. When the ball got out of bounds, the referee tossed it into the court, and the team that first had their hands on the ball got possession. This rule led to players racing towards the ball to get their chance which ended up with players scrambling down inside the court and getting injured. However, by 1923, this rule changed to make the game safer for the players.