Basketball has a long and mostly glorious history. James Naismith started it in 1891 and the first game had nine players on each side.
Once they cut the bottom out of the peach baskets, cut the teams to five players and stopped having a jump ball after every made basket, the game started to take off.
But it had many variants. Netball, played in the British Commonwealth, has seven on each side and no backboard.
The Olympics, whenever they next happen, are going to feature 3 on 3 basketball.
And years ago, women’s basketball featured a six-on-six format.