Nothing says Latter-day Saint chapel quite like the faint echo of squeaking sneakers and the telltale thunk of a basketball hitting a backboard.
Perhaps you've played a gritty game of "Churchball" there, where High Priests, Elders, and Deacons transform into surprisingly competitive athletes. Maybe your wedding reception was held on one of those courts, the lowered basketball hoop draped with tulle and fairy lights in a valiant attempt to disguise its true purpose. And if you're a regular churchgoer, you've almost certainly received the sacrament while sitting under a raised basketball hoop because the chapel was packed.
But why do nearly all Latter-day Saint meetinghouses feature an indoor basketball court? How did this sport become so deeply woven into the fabric of Church culture?
From Massachusetts to Mormon Country
Basketball was invented in the winter of 1891 by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts. Naismith needed a high-energy indoor game for those brutal New England winters—and unknowingly created the perfect sport for the long, cold winters of the Intermountain West.
The sport didn't really catch fire in "Mormon Country" until 1906, when the Church added basketball to its annual field day event. Within five years, wards and stakes were organizing their own teams. Suddenly, every settlement needed a place to play.
The completion of the Salt Lake Deseret Gymnasium in 1910 really sealed the deal. Located where the Church Office Building stands today, this state-of-the-art facility featured a polished maple floor, 32-foot ceilings, and seating for 1,000 spectators. From then on, basketball continued to grow in popularity among Latter-day Saints.
The All-Church Basketball Tournament
As basketball fever spread, Church leaders did what they do best: they organized it. Enter the All-Church basketball tournament, which ran from the 1920s until 1971.
This tournament brought together ward teams from across the United States, Canada, and Mexico to vie for the ultimate bragging right: best Mormon basketball team. In 1962, over 3,500 teams and 50,000 players battled their way from stake competitions to regional championships, with only the elite earning a trip to Salt Lake City for the main event in March.
Teams from outside Utah were assigned two young women "sponsors" from local stakes to serve as cheerleaders and tour guides. And no, romance wasn't on the agenda—the sponsors were specifically told not to date the visiting players.
The tournament kicked off each year with all participants gathering at the Salt Lake Tabernacle for a fireside, dressed in their Sunday best to hear about sportsmanship and the role of athletics in the gospel. The sportsmanship trophy was actually bigger than the winner's trophy—a detail that probably frustrated some competitive Churchball legends.
The tournament games, particularly the finals, were primarily held at the Deseret Gymnasium. These were always well-attended, and game reports would even be published in local newspapers.
Latter-day Saint Hoopers in the NBA
While hundreds of thousands of Latter-day Saints have played basketball in church gyms, a few have taken the craft to the next level, reaching the star-studded ranks of the NBA.
Danny Ainge might be the most famous Church-ball-to-NBA success story. The Boston Celtics legend was known for his competitive fire. In a 1983 playoff full-on brawl with 7'1" Wayne "Tree" Rollins, the scrappy point guard got bitten so hard on his middle finger that it required stitches to reattach the tendon. The Boston Herald's headline the next day? "Tree Bites Man." Today, Ainge serves as CEO of the Utah Jazz.
Then there's Shawn Bradley, the 7'6" player nicknamed "Stormin' Mormon" who spent 12 years in the NBA and racked up 2,119 career blocks, the fifteenth-most in NBA history. Bradley also holds the unique distinction of being the only Latter-day Saint NBA player to have his basketball talents stolen by aliens in the 1996 film Space Jam.
Jimmer Fredette brought us "Jimmermania" during his BYU days, leading the Cougars to their first Sweet 16 appearance since Danny Ainge in 1981. While his NBA career was modest, Fredette became a sensation in China, where he averaged 36 to 37 points per game for three straight seasons and once scored 75 points in a single game. Chinese fans lovingly dubbed him "The Lonely Master"—so good that he was lonely at the top.
Today, Sam Merrill of the Cleveland Cavaliers carries the torch in the NBA. The Utah State graduate from Bountiful helped the Cavaliers to the league's best record this past 2024-2025 season and already has an NBA championship ring from his time with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Here to Stay
Today, basketball courts are as common as church steeples in Latter-day Saint communities worldwide.
Imagine if they brought back the All-Church Tournament today. Picture a ward from Lagos facing off against one from Idaho Falls. A Tongan ward from Oakland battling a team from São Paulo. A BYU student ward taking on defenders from Cebu City. The storylines would be incredible, the logistics nightmarish, and the competition fierce.
Would it be dramatic, occasionally aggressive, and hard to coordinate? Yes, but so is life.
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