Nowadays, an adjustable basketball hoop is very popular as it allows play for all age groups and playing standards. By the aid of an adjustable hoop, you are able to practice your dunking, play recreational games, and many more. In this article we will look at what regulation height is for a hoop in a game of basketball.
The Regulation Height Of Basketball Hoop
The height of the hoop is measured from the ground to the edge of the Rim. The official height of a basketball hoop is 10 feet. But, what about women basketball because they’re on average shorter than men? The answer is, in women basketball, it also remains 10 feet.
In the gyms, parks, driveway, college, for any type of hoops like portable, in-ground, wall-mounted, anywhere around the world, it hasto be 10 feet of the rim height from the ground.
Height recommendation by ages The hoops height below gives you a rough indication of what works for best for children’s ages and heights. Our advice is to let your child decide what size works best for them and let them be comfortable with it. And if your 6 year old decides to go with 10ft then so be it!
History Of Being The Height 10 Feet
Haven’t you ever wonder, why the ideal height is 10 feet? This is because of the creator of the basketball, James Naismith. James Naismith was a physics teacher at the Young men’s Christian Association in Massachusetts. His boss requested him to invent a game so that they could keep their students active during winter or rainy season. By getting inspiration from the existing games, like soccer; he invented the game. Mr James started the game with a soccer ball and a peach basket. He hung the peach basket on the railing of a running track. Now guess the height of that basket from the ground! Yeah, it was 10 feet!
Although, Mr. James didn’t mention the height of the basketball hoop has to be 10 feet in his written basketball rules, after a long time, almost 125 years later it hasn’t changed yet!
Height And Slam Dunk
It’s already been cleared that being taller is a big advantage in the basketball game. Nowadays professional players are getting taller. If we look at the average height of the NBA basketball player, it will 6”.7 inch. Now back to 1946, when NBA first started, their average player height was 6”.2 to 6”.3inch, and the rim height was also 10 feet. But now it’s been changed. The average height is raised but the rim height still in the same measures. That’s why some couches and players raise voices to raise the rim height.
Consideration Of Height Doing More Than 10 Feet
In the 2008 slam dunk competition, Dwight Howard requested the officials to raise the rim 12 feet for his dunk but it was left at 10 feet. In 2009 all-star slam dunk competition officials let the rim raise higher were 6 foot 11 inches Dwight Howard successfully made a 12-foot slam dunk. But dunking in a 12-foot rim is pretty much difficult for a shorter player. Pablo S. Torre from Sports Illustrated claims that a 7-foot player has 17% of chances of getting selected in the NBA only because of his height. According to this report and also after analyzing the game, now we could tell that the taller player left the shorter player disadvantages. The shorter only rely on fundamental and good skills to compete with taller players.
That’s why the NBA didn’t change the rim height yet. But it is still being considered.
Could It Be Lower Than 10 Feet?
In all professional leagues, it is somehow a rule to set the rim on 10 feet higher. But there’re also some sectors where the 10 feet rim height will be difficult for the player to play. The rim height should be lower at those levels,
Junior level: 10foot rim height is too high for young men or women. There’re no standard rules for rim height in the junior competition. The league decides the rim height but most of the time it keeps between 8” to 9”.
Novice or practice level: Have you ever seen a novice trying to reach the ball into a 10” basketball hoop? It’s better to keep the rim lower while practicing your shooting and gradually increase the height if you’re possessing a better shooting.
High school: although the recommended height is 10” but often league set the height from 9 to 9.5feet.
For recreational game: if you want to do a recreational game you don’t have to obey the standard rim. Set the rim on your and your kid’s suitable height so that you can enjoy the moment.
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