Basketball pole shape and size differ among manufacturers

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, round, and rectangle. The most common of these 3 are square and round, 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 4x4 and go all the up to an 8x8. Some of these size options are manufacturer specific. For instance, only Spalding has basketball hoop options that have an 8x8-inch pole. Other manufacturers, such as Lifetime, Goalsetter, and Goalrilla, will have basketball pole sizes from 4x4 to 6x6. (Note: Spalding also has 4x4 to 6x6 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.

Basketball pole safety

We encourage you to get a pole pad to protect players from impact on the pole during competitive games. We offer round and square pole pads in many shapes, sizes and colors. Spalding, Lifetime and Goalsetter brands are available.