Why Are Basketball Hoops 10 Feet High? - Britannica

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Why Are Basketball Hoops 10 Feet High? Athletes of all ages play organized basketball with hoops that are 10 feet off the ground. Why is that? Ask the Chatbot a Question More Actions Print Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/story/why-are-basketball-hoops-10-feet-high Feedback Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback

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External Websites Ask the Chatbot a Question Written by Adam Augustyn Adam Augustyn was a senior editor at Encyclopædia Britannica. Adam Augustyn Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask the Chatbot

Throughout gyms, parks, and driveways around the world, basketball hoops are almost always 10 feet (3 meters) off the ground. Some leagues for young children play on shorter hoops, but from junior high schools through the professional leagues, the game is played on hoops of the standard 10-foot height. The reason why is surprisingly simple: when James Naismith invented the sport in 1891, he hung the peach baskets that served as the first hoops on the railing of the running track at the YMCA gym in Springfield, Massachusetts, and the railing was 10 feet off the ground.

(Read James Naismith’s 1929 Britannica essay on his invention of basketball.)

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Naismith’s impromptu decision to mount the baskets on the railing is one of the few features of the first game to last to the present day. Originally, the game was played with nine people per side (as opposed to the modern five); they used a soccer ball—as the basketball had not, of course, yet been invented—and the players were not allowed to dribble the ball but instead had to be stationary when in possession of it. However, the goal remained 10 feet off the ground, even after the inconvenient peach baskets (which required a ladder to retrieve the ball when a shot was successful) were replaced with iron hoops. As the game—and players—grew over the years, there occasionally were calls to raise the height of the hoops at more-advanced levels of play in order to make hitting a shot more difficult. The average height of a National Basketball Association (NBA) player in 1947 was just 6 feet 2 inches, while in 2015 the average height was just under 6 feet 7 inches. This increase in height—combined with better training and an overall increase in athletic talent over the years—created the high-flying above-the-rim game that modern NBA fans cannot get enough of. So while technically the game is easier for today’s players, it’s doubtful that there will be any serious effort to change the height of the hoops, given the beautiful play of the modern basketball game.

Adam Augustyn