How to Buy a Basketball Hoop

The hoop you choose depends on where you intend to install it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Basketball Hoops
• Adjustable Wrenches

1. Stake out an area for your court. Look for somewhere flat, paved and spacious, such as a driveway or vacant lot.
2. Decide whether you will be mounting the hoop on a building or from a freestanding pole.
3. If mounting the hoop on a building, look for a hoop with an opaque backboard. A transparent plexiglass backboard is difficult to see against a house's roof or an apartment wall.
4. Look for a rounded backboard made of wood or fiberglass and painted a light color.
5. See if the backboard has a bank-shot target - usually a rectangle painted behind the hoop. Choose this whenever possible.
6. Examine how the hoop attaches to the backboard. See if the orange hoop is "fixed" to the backboard with a single piece of metal or if it has a spring-loaded "breakaway" section. The breakaway design allows the hoop to bend slightly under weight. If you intend to dunk or hang on the rim, choose the breakaway model.
7. Make sure all hardware - nuts, bolts and decals - is included in the box.
8. If buying a freestanding pole, make sure bolts for the base are available.
9. Check for measurement marks on the pole to ensure the hoop is the proper height above the ground.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure the backboard can fit the space where you intend to mount it. Some steep or shingled roofs will not hold a backboard straight.
• Try to mount the hoop in a place where you can paint a court - or at least a free-throw line - below it.
• If you decide to make your own backboard, don't use plywood. It will crack. Use a thicker, harder wood.