Congratulations! You’ve finally decided you need a basketball hoop to make your suburban dream home complete! But there are so many choices out there…how will you ever choose?! One of the most important things you will need to consider when buying a basketball hoop is what size backboard you will need for your new basketball court. Backboard sizes vary in width from 48” wide all the way up to 72”, but for the sake of regular game play we recommend choosing backboard no smaller than 54” wide. Anything narrower than this measurement won’t allow the player to perform bank shots at all!

Play Like the Pros

This all important decision is typically going to be based on playing area size. The closer you can get to having a full-sized 72” wide backboard, the more realistic and professional play you will have. It could affect your shot significantly if you are at home practicing layups from the block on a 54” backboard, and then you switch to a 72” backboard for your Varsity competitions! You won’t be able to practice the variety of shots you are able to make on that regulation size backboard.

Some other basketball goals with a short pole system recommend that you should choose your size backboard based on playing area size. This recommendation is made for one very important reason! It is because the overhang of their premium basketball goals can reach as far as 5 feet into the driveway! This would make it nearly impossible to drive a car past the basketball goal if were lowered anywhere below 8’ in some instances. This is why Goalrilla has an overhang of no more than 4’, backboard to post, and one of the many reasons no Goalrilla goal can be lowered beyond 7.5’.

Backboard Glass Matters Too

Look for 54″ or 60″ size boards with 3/8″ thick glass and 72″ boards with 1/2″ glass for gym-correct rebound. 3/8″ glass on a 54″ or 60″ backboard provides the same rebound as a regulation 72″ backboard made of 1/2″ glass but has the advantage of being lighter making it easier to adjust the rim height for your little ones. We use 1/2″ thick glass only on our regulation 72″ systems such as the CV72 and DC72E1, same as used in the NBA and NCAA.

Skill level also plays a part in selecting a backboard size. Since high school and college use the standard 72 inch backboards many people like to purchase this size to closely reproduce actual playing conditions.

You want to get the absolute largest basketball backboard that you can fit within your budget. The larger your backboard, the closer it will feel to an NBA quality basketball hoop, because you’ll actually be able to sink those far-corner banks!

If you have a good sized budget of about $1,500 but don’t want a 72″ backboard, you can still buy a very good 60″ basketball backboard, such as those that are offered by brands like Goalrilla. Basketballgoalstore.com is where you will find your absolute lowest prices on the largest variety of goals.

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