Portable Basketball Goals - The Real Truth About Buying a Home Basketball Hoop

You have decided to buy a basketball goal for yourself and your family because you like how easy these systems are to assemble and you enjoy the benefit of being able to transport the basketball goal to any location you choose.  But before you go ahead and dive into that purchase, there are a few very basic things that you are going to have to know before you dive into that purchase.  Taking a little bit of time right now to guarantee that you will make a good choice in your goal can save you ton of money and hassle in the long run.

Fan Shaped Backboards -   There are still fan shaped backboards on a few portable basketball goals, even though this particular kind of backboard should have been put out to pasture a very long time ago.  There is absolutely no benefit to them, other maybe offering some really super cheap hoops for kids.   Their backboard surface area is less than that of rectangular backboards, thus making it a lot harder to do bank shots.

Broom Stick Adjustment Systems -  There are a lot of ways to adjust a portable basketball goal, and by far the cheapest and most frustrating is the broom stick or “ratchet” adjustment system. This isn’t a big deal for you at all if you think you’ll be one of many players who just enjoy keeping their basketball rim at a single height all the time.  But if you think you will have a need to adjust it up and down very frequently, such as if you have kids or if you just like to lower to make shooting easier,  these can be a major hassle to use.  Adjustment systems that are less tricky include “trigger handle,” “pneumatic,” and “crank adjust systems.

Ball Deflectors -  You sometimes see these on portable basketball goals.  These are little dome like plastic things that go on top of portable bases, and their main job is supposedly to “deflect” basketballs towards you after you have made a shot, thus making it easier to retrieve the ball.  They almost never work as advertised, and while some great basketball hoops have this “ball deflector,” you shouldn’t consider it a selling point at all.  If you really want balls to roll back to you after you make a shot, buy a roll back net separately.  It is a net that attached to the back of the rim and drapes all the way down to the base of the hoop, weighed down by sandbags.  It costs a little extra, but it really works in keeping stray balls from rolling away.

Rubber Basketballs  - When you think of buying a basketball for your portable basketball goal, make certain to keep rubber basketballs out of your mind.  They might be OK for children, but otherwise they handle poorly and they don’t last very long.  If you want a better ball for outdoor play, two smart choices include synthetic leather and composite leather balls.  They feel great, handle great, and they just last a lot longer than your average rubber ball.