“I have a way to make it equal,” Shaquille O’Neal said to Candace Parker on TNT’s Inside the NBA. “So in beach volleyball, the women’s net is maybe a half-an-inch lower. You think if we lower the rim so y’all can dunk like we dunk that would give y’all more oomph than you already have?” His ideas weren’t welcome, however, and the discussion about lowering the rim in women’s basketball ended before it began. “Lailaa, she’s into dance, but my next child will be drop-step dunking. I promise you.” responded Candace Parker. She went on to have a son, Airr, by the way, so she did call it. Though perhaps not in the way she intended! But other WNBA players, have been known to be in favor of a shorter hoop. Washington Mystics all-star forward and WNBA champion Elena Delle Donne actually faced backlash from the WNBA community when she spoke favorably of lowering the rims in 2016. Regardless, already there have been WNBA dunks, and there will be more.
But let’s start at the beginning: how tall is the WNBA basketball hoop to begin with? Today, we’ll take a look at how tall a basketball hoop really is (in the WNBA, NBA FIFA, and more), and we’ll discuss the best height to put your hoop at for a child as they build their skills and grow. We’ll also share a little more about the size of a basketball backboard and rim, and reveal why rims are now designed to break off the backboard easily. Let’s get after it!
It’s pretty freaking tall. A basketball hoop is 10 feet (3.05 meters) tall from the ground to the rim (not the net). This height is standard for both men’s and women’s basketball at all levels of play, including professional, college, and high school. The height of the hoop (and the size of the basketball court) are regulated by the NCAA, NBA, WNBA, FIFA, and other organizations to ensure fair play and competition.
When James Naismith first invented basketball in 1891, he hung up peach baskets as hoops by putting them on the railing of the running track at the YMCA gym in Springfield, Massachusetts. The railing just so happened to be 10 feet off the ground. After that, he came up with 13 written rules, and secured a soccer ball – and he was ready for the first game (of 9 vs 9 with two 15 minute halves, can you imagine?) Et voila! His impromptu decision to mount the baskets on the railing at that height is one of the few things about the first game that has lasted all the way to today.
The correct basketball hoop height for different age groups is determined by two things: the height of the player and their skill level. When your child is just starting out, put your hoop as low as it can go. At that moment in their development it’s important for your child to learn solid fundamentals and to get a feel for the game. You should use a smaller ball as well. As they grow taller, you can raise the rim, but ensure your child is using proper technique and not throwing the ball at the rim. Here is a general guide to basketball hoop height by age group:
It’s worth noting that these guidelines are for recreational play and may not apply to competitive or organized basketball leagues, which generally use the standard hoop height of 10 feet for all ages. If you’re curious about helping a young athlete to train, definitely check out these books before putting together your development plan: How We Learn to Move and The Coach’s Guide to Teaching. While neither is basketball specific, they both have a bunch of revolutionary insights that will change the way you think about training and coaching, as well as practical tips you can implement right away.
So now that you know all about the history of hoop height, let’s dive into some more basketball hoop basics.
It’s big enough for Steph Curry to be able to finish 100 different ways. A regulation-size basketball backboard is 6 feet (1.83 meters) wide and 3.5 feet (1.07 meters) high. These dimensions apply to backboards used at all levels of play, including professional, college, and high school. The size of a basketball backboard is regulated by the NCAA and other organizations to ensure fair play and competition.
Always too small when you’re playing knock out, or so it seems. The size of a basketball rim is regulated by the NCAA and other organizations to ensure fair play and competition. According to the NCAA, the dimensions of a regulation basketball rim are 18 inches (45.72 centimeters) in diameter and 6 inches (15.24 centimeters) wide. These dimensions apply to rims used at all levels of play, including professional, college, and high school.
Another interesting thing you might not realize about today’s standard basketball hoop rim is that we now use a breakaway rim. A breakaway rim is a type of basketball hoop that is designed to flex or “break away” when a player dunks the ball with excessive force in order to help prevent injuries.
Arthur Ehrat is credited as the inventor of the breakaway basketball rim. The story goes that in 1976, his nephew, an assistant basketball coach at Saint Louis University, asked him to design a special rim that wouldn’t distort the rim or shatter the backboard during dunks. Arthur used a spring from a John Deere cultivator to make a rim that could withstand 125 pounds of force by bending and then snapping back into the original position. His official patent was awarded in 1982.
The breakaway rim was first used by the NCAA during the 1978 Final Four in St. Louis. Although the late Darryl Dawkins, the NBA hooper nicknamed “Chocolate Thunder” by Stevie Wonder and most known for his time with the 76ers and Nets, shattered two backboards with his dunks in 1979, the old-style bolted rim structure wasn’t phased out of the NBA until the 1981–82 season, when breakaway rims debuted as a uniform equipment upgrade.
Now you know what to expect when you hit any court! And if you want to dunk, you know how high you’ll need to jump. Up next, explore the best portable basketball hoops for the driveway.
