Over time, all backboards will wear out. When the time comes, a knee-jerk reaction might be to throw out the old system and look to purchase a whole new system. While, in some cases, this might be necessary, many times you can save considerable amounts of money by simply replacing the backboard of the in ground basketball goal. Lifetime Products makes many of their systems with component backboards that can be purchased retail, rather than replacing the entire goal. Here is the way to determine if your basketball system has a backboard that can be replaced.

What is the backboard material is used on your inground basketball system?

Lifetime in ground basketball systems can have several different backboard materials. Of those, backboards that are made of polycarbonate, acrylic, and polyethylene plastic are replaceable. If your backboard is made with tempered glass, the only way to replace the item is calling in directly to Lifetime Products and order the specific part of your in ground goal. Please note that if your system has a polycarbonate, acrylic, and polyethylene basketball backboard you cannot change these materials to tempered glass. Tempered glass backboards weigh much more than similarly-sized acrylic, polycaronbate, and plastic backboards. The mounting arms for glass backboards are much larger.

What is the shape of your pole?

Now, assuming you have a backboard with the correct backboard material, the next thing we will look at is the shape of your pole. Lifetime makes in ground basketball systems with both round and square poles. The pole shape matters because the mounting bracket that attaches the backboard to the main pole of the system will differ between these two shapes of pole. If your systems has a square pole, the mounting bracket for your backboard will not fit retailed Lifetime backboards; you will have to contact Lifetime customer service to replace it. If your pole is round, than we are still on the right track.

What size of pole do you have on your basketball hoop?

Lifetime basketball systems have several different pole-size options. For their round-shaped poles, options of 2.75-inches, 3-inches, and 3.5-inches are available. To replace your backboard for an in ground basketball goal, you will need a pole size of 3.5 inches. Smaller poles will have smaller brackets that will keep you from fitting retailed replacement backboards. If your pole is smaller in size, you will need to contact Lifetime customer service to replace the backboard. Otherwise, continue forward to the next step.

Do you see a Y-bracket that attaches to the backboard?

The mounting bracket contains several components. One of these mounting brackets that is found on basketball systems with a round pole measuring 3.5-inches in diameter has 4 mounting arms that attach directly to the frame of the backboard. The other design for the same size and shape of pole has 4 mounting arms that come off from the pole of the system and then attach to a Y shaped bracket. The Y-bracket is the last part of the mounting bracket that actually attaches to the backboard. If you see this Y-bracket (it is very obvious, it simply looks like a large capital letter Y), then you can continue to the last step.

How old is your system?

Are you still reading? Good. That means we can be about 90% certain that you have a system that has a replaceable backboard. The last thing to confirm is the age of your system. The mounting brackets have actually changed sizes in the past 10 years. If your basketball hoop is older than that, you can still purchase a retailed backboard, but you will also need to purchase a new Y-bracket. The Y-bracket consists of two parts and can be purchased from Lifetime customer service. If your in ground basketball system is younger than 10 years old, then literally any retailed Lifetime backboard, including ones that are larger or smaller than your current backboard, are going to be compatible with your current system. Please note that even if you have to purchase a new Y-bracket you will still be saving money compared to replacing the entire system.

Lifetime Products can be reached at 1-800-225-3865.

First, do you have building covenants in your housing complex, neighborhood, or apartment that forbid one sort of system or the other? In some cases, a customer will make a pricey purchase of an in-ground system only to find out later that building covenants in their neighborhood forbid adding permanent structures to the property, like cementing a basketball pole into the ground. Finding this information out before buying can save you a lot of time and money.

Second, do you need to move the system around? If you do, only a portable basketball hoop will fit that need. Why would someone need to move their basketball hoop around? Sometimes, customer might want to bring the system in for part of the year. Other times, their driveways might have frequent traffic, which would require flexibility where they set up their basketball court. Portable basketball goals allow you to easily move the court location to different parts of the property. If these issues are not a concern, an in-ground system might work best for you.

Third, what is your intended budget? Basketball systems encompass a large range of prices. However, a close look reveals that an in-ground basketball hoop can be purchased from the low end – around $100 – all the way to a high-end – over $2000. Whereas most portable basketball systems are prices a little higher than the low-end of in-ground systems, and do not get as expensive as the high-end of in-ground systems. Thus, for a budget-conscience purchase, an in-ground system can be purchased cheaper than a comparably-sized portable basketball system.

Lastly, do you have any major safety concerns where your basketball court will be set up? To clarify, portable systems can tip over, short of putting a mountain of sand on top of the base. If your court is on a driveway on top of a hill, you might have a greater danger of having the system tip. Another tipping concern deals with who will be using the system. Teenage boys dunking on a basketball hoop is much more likely to have the system fall over than a basketball system for a 6-year old just starting to shoot the ball.