A basketball hoop is one of those things that hasn't changed since the origin of basketball in 1891. Many changes occurred throughout the years but basketball hoop height remains the same.
Basketball hoop height according to NBA should be 3.05m or 10
feet from the ground surface level towards the top.
Follow official rules of NBA for basketball
hoop height
This height was proposed so players can reach the
ball in a dunk and not get injured during the process. The more or less height
will be too much or too little.
Hoop Height for different age groups:
There are different rules for younger age group
basketball players as compared to NBA athletes
For different ages the size of ball and basketball
hoop height size is different :
The following table helps to identify a difference
in basketball hoop height: (Source: nba.com)
| Age | Basketball hoop height |
|---|---|
| 7-8 years old | 8ft or 2.04m |
| 9-11 years old | 9ft or 2.74m |
| 12 years and onwards | 10ft or 3.05m |
Basketball
hoop height is a standard set internationally and is being played on the same
level on a global level.
In
the recent past, this height level has been reached by more and more NBA
players making it an achievable target for most players.
Vertical
height along with long Arm length makes this hoop height achievable. An
average NBA player is
around 6 ft 6 with an average vertical leap of
28 inches.
With enough training, you can increase your vertical
leap even if you're an average 5ft9inc tall.
Likes of Nate Robinson, Spud Webb, Will Bynum who
despite their under 6ft height frame are able to dunk high.
Learn here dunk training program to improve dunks and vertical leaps by 10, 15 inches, or more with proper training routines.
History of hoop height set:
James
Naismith was the inventor of the game basketball, at that time was
in progress of making an indoor game So, his students can play during cold
winters.
Due to the limited physical abilities indoors he
used a peach basket and a ball.
The game was simply putting the ball into the basket
from a distance. At that time he uses a stepladder to retrieve the ball from
the basket as it has no open hole.
The basket was held high up to a distance so it can
be reached with a step ladder which was 10 feet or 3.05 meters at that time and
still remain the same.
A stepladder was able to reach 10feet high so the
basketball hoop was at that 10 feet and hence the rule of basketball hoop
height of 10 ft was originated
Efforts to increase Basketball hoop height further:
Dwight
Howard a pro basketball player his proposal for rim height to 12
feet was rejected as reported on ESPN.
He had reached 10 feet dunking height and wanted to
increase the standard hoop vertical.
But the majority of NBA players had 10 feet
basketball hoop height enough for them so there was no cause for increasing it.
Gerald Green another pro basketball player has
proposed to raise rim height to 13 feet also got rejected.
For now, it seems there is no increase in the
basketball hoop height and will remain the same as 10 ft or 3.05m for a long
time.
Some changes occurred instead of basketball hoop height:
Even there were efforts to change the basketball
hoop height it was not achievable instead, there were changes in the basketball
rim itself.
Open basket:
In 1912 the open basket was introduced making the
basket open and eliminating the retrieval process bringing a change in the
basketball industry.
Backboard:
The backboard of the basketball rim has strong
tempered glass to prevent any breaks
Breakaway RIM:
The RIM in 1976 was changed to a breakaway rim was
considered the best development in a basketball game.
It has enabled players to be able to dunk and invent
new techniques how to achieve a higher dunk. Breakaway rim prevents the rim from
breaking by releasing the force inserted on it during a dunk
Instead of increasing basketball hoop height. The industry has focused on changing the rim making the game safer.
