The pole of the basketball system is an important part for obvious reasons; the most obvious reason being it holds the backboard and mounting hardware in position. However, there are also less obvious reasons that might escape some people. With most manufacturers, they will have a series of basketball goal offerings that will increase in quality and size. Thus, the poles of their systems will also differ in quality and size. Other manufacturers will offer basketball poles in only 1 shape, but differ in sizes. We will explore all these options in this part of the basketball hoop purchasing guide.

Basketball pole shape considerations

Basketball pole shapes are typically in one of 3 shapes: square, triangle, and rectangle. The most common of these 3 are square and triangle, and thus we will focus on these two in this article. For the cheaper basketball hoop budget, the most common and affordable will be basketball systems with a round pole. The round shape is easily constructed and uses less metal material than a comparably-sized square pole. On the other hand, more expensive basketball systems tend to have square pole that ultimately get very large the higher up the line you go in price. One consideration that few people realize when choosing a basketball hoop is that the shape of the pole can also determine the stiffness, or rigidity, of the basketball hoop. For instance, a square pole is much more rigid in the ground than a comparably-sized round pole. Thus, if you are wanting a rigid, stiff system, you will want to look for a basketball system with a square pole.

Basketball pole size considerations

Now that we have a good understanding of shape, we will take a look at considerations with the size options for the basketball pole. For most manufacturers offering round poles, the sizes will get as small as a 2.75-inch diameter, and grow all the way up to a 3.5-inch diameter. The larger the pole, the less movement you will see when the basketball system is in use. These round pole sizes will also follow a comparable budget, meaning, the larger the pole diameter, the more expensive the system. For square poles, sizes typically start at a 4×4 and go all the up to an 8×8. Some of these size options are manufacturer specific. For instance, only Spalding has basketball hoop options that have an 8×8-inch pole. Other manufacturers, such as Lifetime, Goalsetter, and Goalrilla, will have basketball pole sizes from 4×4 to 6×6. (Note: Spalding also has 4×4 to 6×6 poles).

Before ordering your basketball hoop, make sure you take the poles size and shape into consideration. If you will not be happy with a particular shape or size, save for the appropriate budget. Basketball hoops are a long-term purchase; better to save and be happy for the long term than impulse purchase a weaker system and regret it for years to come. As always, let us know if you have questions.

To start off this section, we should note that a regulation backboard is 72 inches wide and 42 inches high. Most basketball systems, however, do not have this large of a backboard. There are a large number of mini basketball hoops available, which we will not consider. We will consider basketball hoops made by Lifetime Products, Spalding, Huffy, Goalsetter, and Goalrilla product offerings that have systems that can have the rim reach 10 feet. In this group of available basketball systems, backboards widths can be as small as 44 inches wide and as big as a regulation-sized backboard. Here are some more details for each size group.

Small basketball backboards: 44 inches to 48 inches

Small basketball backboards are typical on basketball hoops priced under $300. These backboard systems will normally be made with plastic, polycarbonate, or acrylic. For these backboard sizes, they are available on inground, portable, and wall-mount basketball systems. The poles on the inground and portable system options will normally be 2.75 inches to 3.5 inches round.

Medium basketball backboards: 50 inches to 54 inches

These mid-sized backboard encompass systems in the both the high end and low end of systems. Basketbal hoops with these backboard sizes are typically priced between $300 to $1199.00. In the cheaper part of that spectrum, the backboards will be made of polycarbonate and acrylic. Those systems with these backboard materials are normally priced below $499.00. Where this backboard size category shifts into the higher-priced systems is when the backboard material is tempered glass. All of the above-mentioned manufacturers will have tempered glass backboard systems in this size category.

Large basketball backboard: 60 inches and 72 inches

These basketball backboards are almost exclusively made with tempered glass, with a few acrylic backboard options. Systems with this size of backboard are also almost exclusively in-ground goals, with only a couple of portable options. Goalsetter, makes a wall-mount backboard system in both a 60-inch and 72-inch backboard size. These basketball systems will also have larger poles (for in-ground and portable options). These poles are typically 5×5 inch and 6×6 inch sizes, with a couple of options with an 8×8 inch size.

Nearly every basketball hoop manufacturer has a height adjustment mechanism of some sort. These height adjustment mechanisms can be as simple as a turn crank, or has complicated as a pneumatic piston lift. This post will discuss the different options available from each of the major manufacturers.

Goalsetter

Goalsetter provides one of the most basic, but effective height adjustment mechanisms. Their height adjuster is a simply crank system. The unique part about their mechanism offering is that you have a choice of an internal or external location for that mechanism. The internal design encloses the majority of the cranking components inside the main pole of the basketball system. Whereas the external deisgn has the majority of the components outside of the pole. The internal design typically costs $100 more for than the external mechanism. Goalsetter is actually one of few manufacturers that also makes a fixed-height backboard system in the high end of basketball goals.

Spalding / Huffy

Spalding and Huffy have several different types of height adjusters. Their most basic mechanism is their pole height adjuster, which requires the use of a broom stick to engage the mechanism. This mechanism is typically referred to as Exacta Height. From there, they have a handle-engaged mechanism that slides up and down a pole system. Lastly, Spalding and Huffy’s high-end goals will have a turn crank mechanism, typically referred to as U-Turn.

Lifetime Products

Lifetime Products, like Spalding, has low-end and high-end basketball goals. Their low-end systems will have a broom-stick enabled mechanism called the Quick Adjust. From there, all the rest of their mechanisms are handle-engaged mechanims. One of these is called the Action Grip, which uses counter-balance springs to raise and lower the backboard in 6-inch increments. The next mechanism up is called the Power Lift, which is a pneumatic device that raised and lowers the backboard height in infinite increments again with the use of a handle. Lastly, Lifetime’s high-end basketball goal line, the Mammoth basketball hoop, uses what is called the Rapid Cam and Mammoth Pump. These are also pneumatic devices engaged by the use of a handle, but are much more robust than the Power Lift mechanism.

Goalrilla

Goalrilla, much like Goalsetter, uses strictly turn cranks to raise and lower backboards. All 3 of their systems will use the same crank, which allows height adjustment mechanism from 7.5 feet to 10 feet in infinite increments.

These are the height adjustment mechanisms available from the major basketball hoop manufacturers. Choose whatever mechansim is best suited for your basketball hoop needs.