In this pandemic period, when indoor sports are becoming the new normal, more and more people are looking to invest in equipment that can last them for years; from the fastest gaming consoles to the best indoor basketball hoops.
Indoor basketball hoops are perfect for families who would like to bond with physical activity rather than playing NBA on virtual reality. They present a physical and mental challenge while teaching kids to get along with their brothers and sisters and how to become good sports. Unlike playing in a sports park, indoor basketball is safe and easily accessible.
A quality indoor basketball hoop will have sliders for adjustable height, a shatterproof polycarbonate backboard, and an easy-to-assemble, heavy-duty rim that can accommodate even experienced players in the family. It should be easy to install and stable after assembly, without taking too much indoor floor space that you might need for other activities.
You're already one step ahead of the average consumer by reading reviews on the internet instead of jumping the gun and buying the flashiest one you see in a sporting goods store. Some indoor basketball hoops can be poorly made products with little or no quality control.
Here are some of our best recommendations for an indoor basketball hoop for every kind of home, play style, and player age group.
- Best for more serious players
- #1 best seller
- Height: 7.5 to 10 feet
- Best Over-the-Door Hoop
- Includes spring-action break-away rim for slammin'
- Also has glow-in-the-dark version
- Best for elementary school age
- Rim can be folded for storage
- Height: 5.5 to 7.5 feet
- Best for indoor AND outdoor
- High quality, stable and portable
- Height: 7.5 to 10 feet
- Best for Kids 5 to 11 years old
- Collapsible design for easy storage
- Height: 5.2 to 7 feet
- For the older youths
- A-Plus build quality
- Height: 8 to 10 feet
- Best Arcade Hoop for Indoors
- 2 rims & scoreboard for competitive play
- Great for family and friends
Best Indoor Basketball Hoops
When it comes to indoor sports equipment, there is rarely any competing company that can beat Lifetime. This company always comes through with a great value proposition that can blow almost all other competing products out of the water. Today, Lifetime has once again made one of the ten best indoor basketball hoops that you can buy for the money.
The Lifetime 1269 has an adjustable height that you can lower to 7.5 feet and extend up to 10 feet, so people who are taller than 6 feet can still play with a challenge. It has a steel stem with a rustproof and weather-resistant coating, making it one of those rare indoor basketball hoops that you can place in your home gym as well as outside by the garage door.
The hoop's heavy-duty construction is strengthened even more by its 27-gallon base and shatterproof polycarbonate backboard infused with other hardened glass and plastics that can last for years. Even the graphics on its backboard are fade-resistant and built to last, solidifying this hoop as the best when it comes to quality and durability.
The SKLZ Pro Mini Basketball System has all the hallmarks of a product that would earn good reviews: it's height-adjustable, easily portable, and comes with a free rubber ball. It also has top-of-the-line build quality and backs up all its features with solid construction. It's designed for kids ages 5 to 11 but also works for adults as an easy-to-install poolside ring.
The SKLZ Pro is a mini-basketball hoop that gets big points for durability. It has a shatterproof polycarbonate backboard that's 33 inches wide and 23 inches high, with a base made of polyethylene, which is highly resistant to scratches and corrosion. You can fill up the base with sand or water for dramatically improved stability.
In the world of pro mini-indoor basketball hoops, the SKLZ Pro sits next to Lifetime when it comes to quality control. The rim has a loaded spring that will snap it back into place after a hard dunk. It also has an all-weather net that will not rip or snag even if you leave it outside for most of the year.
Perhaps the only drawback of the SKLZ pro is its complicated assembly process. While this is common for indoor basketball hoops designed to stay assembled for years, there are some nuts and bolts that you might think are oddly placed because the rim is attached to the backboard on the SKLZ Pro.
Apart from that, it's still one of the ten best products you can buy for indoor and outdoor sports.
The Lifetime 90022 Youth Portable Basketball Hoop is Lifetime's offering for younger players from the age of 6 through 13. It has a polycarbonate, bulletproof backboard that comes in a solid black color, so kids who might have some colorful ideas for what to use as a basketball can never stain or damage it.
It has a 15-inch rim that folds onto the backboard, making it easier to put away and store, and a nylon net made of weather-resistant materials.
The 90022 features a 10-gallon base that's as portable as it is stable. You can fill it with sand or water, although every once in a while, you need to add a little antiseptic to prevent bacteria from building up, especially if you live in a warm area. This base supports a telescopic stem that you can adjust from 5.5 feet to 7.5 feet.
The Lifetime 9002 is not just among the ten best basketball mini-hoops for kids. It sits comfortably in the top 5.
Reviews for this product from sports equipment sites are stellar, and its versatility is nearly unparalleled. You can play pro mini-basketball with your kids or a classic game with your preteens.
Perhaps the only shortcoming of Lifetime products is they're not easy to assemble.
The Lifetime 90022 needs its poles to cover the slots on its base and struck on a hard surface 5 or 6 times before you can finish setting it up. However, once you've erected this mini hoop according to the instructions on the manual, it can stand for years with a steel rim that kids can dunk on it without worrying if it will break away.
The Lifetime 1221 Pro Court Adjustable Portable Basketball Hoop is unmatched when it comes to versatility, as it can accommodate beginners looking to play mini-hoops basketball as well as seasoned players.
It has a 44-inch backboard that's nearly indestructible when used for sport, along with an 18-inch diameter steel rim that's supported by half-inch braces made of steel that's as thick as the rim itself.
A key feature of The Lifetime 1221 is its adjustable hoop that you can lower to 7.5 feet or extend as high as 10 feet in precise 6-inch increments. You don't need to loosen any screws or use any tools to make adjustments, making the Lifetime 1221 the best indoor basketball hoop for versatility and build quality. You can dramatically increase its stability by filling up its 27-gallon base with sand or water, and by then, even full-grown adults will have a hard time trying to tip it over.
As one of the ten best indoor basketball hoops in the market right now, its stability, ease of use, and quality out of the box are hard to match. Growing kids can raise the telescopic stem slowly as their dunking skills improve, and the welding on its rim makes sure that it will never break away. The backboard has a UV-protection coating, so it's highly resistant to wear and tear, and its color won't fade away over time.
The Lifetime 1221 is a quality basketball hoop for room use or playing outside the house, by the garage, or in the yard. The product features an adjustable stem with anti-rust coating, ensuring that its welding points stay free of rust and corrosion until the day you retire it.
The entire indoor basketball hoop, from its base to its backboard, is covered by Lifetime's limited 5-year warranty.
The Yaheetech Kids Portable Basketball Hoop System is more than just a mini-basketball hoop you can use indoors. You can also take it outside for more spirited play with your young teens. Featuring a height that can be adjusted from 5 feet to 7 feet in precise 4.3-inch increments, this is one of those products that get rave reviews for its versatility.
The Yaheetech's adjustable telescopic pole has two hand knobs, so you can easily loosen and fix it to your desired height. The whole mini-basketball hoop has a non-toxic powder coating that ensures rust will never be a problem. It has a polyethylene backboard that's attached to a steel rim with a weatherproof fiber net.
When you look at it after you set it up, you will see that Yaheetech was trying to make it the best indoor mini-basketball hoop for its portability. You can dismantle the entire basketball hoop into many flat pieces that will fit snugly in your pickup or indoor storage space. This collapsible design is not new in the field of mini-basketball equipment, but the Yaheetech does it so well that it's an achievement.
Most basketball hoops' mini-bases can be filled with sand or water to improve stability, and Yaheetech goes the extra mile by making its products' bases with the same material as the backboard. The base of this particular mini-basketball hoop is made of polyethylene and equipped with two 4-inch diameter wheels that will make shifting the hoop to another location an easy task.
Perhaps the only drawback of this product is its short maximum height. It's a mini-basketball hoop for 5- to 11-year-olds, and while it fits that bill nicely, its above-par materials and construction can make it seem like it isn't living up to its full potential, which is to be used by kids well into their teenage years.
The Lifetime 90023 is an indoor basketball hoop with a focus on reliability. It's another quality home product from Lifetime with an A-plus build quality. It has a fusion backboard made of polycarbonate and hardened plastics, accented with a UV-resistant graphic print that will never fade away even if you keep it outside for many seasons.
The basketball hoop has Lifetime's Quick Adjust II height adjustment system that will allow you to raise it to 10 feet with a broomstick. The stem can also be lowered down to 8 feet, transforming the whole thing into a mini-basketball hoop that's perfect for use by children and young teens. The pole has a layer of anti-rust powder that helps it survive through many kinds of weather if you leave it outdoors.
The Lifetime 90023 has an 18-inch steel rim that's 5/8 inches thick. You and your kids can shoot as many hoops as you want on this basketball hoop without ever worrying that it will break apart. It also has a base that you can fill with sand or water for maximum stability, and it won't leak no matter how many times you lay it on its side for indoor storage.
The only shortcoming of the Lifetime 90023 is its promise to be one of those portable products that you can easily fold and put away. This basketball hoop is tall, and without taking apart its telescopic pole, you can't store it anywhere, even with the wheels on its base. You can't nail it to a living room door, and if your garage is on the smaller side, you might have to leave it outside, or it will get dinged by your garage door.
The Greengee Portable mini-basketball hoop, also affectionately named as the "HY-012-B03 Portable Kid Teenager Indoor Outdoor Basketball Stand" on its user manual, is a product made for preteens and young kids.
It has a large polyethylene base that can withstand years of refilling with sand or water, keeping the hoop stable no matter how hard your kids play. You can lower its height to 5.8 feet, perfect for basketball hoop mini-games at the pool with fellow adults, or on dry land with your toddler.
The Greengee's height can only extend as high as 7.4 feet, so if your kid reaches the age of 11 where he or she grows to more than 5 feet, you might need to place it on a pedestal. The hoop is very easy to dismantle and reassemble, so putting it away or attaching it to a modification you made yourself is never a problem. It has wheels that slide down with a simple click, so you can move it from the garage to the yard or the pool without breaking a sweat.
A polypropylene backboard is a standout feature of this mini-basketball hoop. While a polycarbonate fusion might make a harder backboard, polypropylene is lighter and more versatile, making it the backboard of choice for manufacturers who want their products to be portable. It also has a heavy-duty steel rim that will survive a thousand pro mini-bouts without breaking away.
The Greengee's portability is also its waterloo because even though you can move it from one spot to another, you can't nail it onto a door in your house. Also, because it's lighter than most indoor basketball hoops, it tends to move if you hit the backboard hard with a rubber ball.
The Hanmun Basketball Hoop is great for kids. It has an adjustable height that can accommodate toddlers, kids in primary school, and those in their early teens. You can drop it down as low as 47 inches and raise it to a height of 72 inches for a more challenging game.
You can call the Hanmun a mini-basketball hoop because of its target market. At its middle height, it's roughly as tall as a door, and it comes with a set of screws so you can nail its backboard to a door or a flat wall. It comes with a stable base that supports its metallic stem, and those elements guarantee that the hoop won't tip over in the middle of a game.
Ironically, its two shortcomings are probably because of its target market as well. It has a thin, almost flimsy construction that feels like the hoop might break away if a child dunked on it and hung on.
Perhaps in the future editions of its products, Hanmun will seek to improve the welding on its product's rims so it can solidify its place as one of the ten best kids' indoor basketball hoop-makers on the market.
This indoor basketball arcade from the Lancaster Gaming Company is the best in its market for three reasons: it comes with an air pump, four basketballs, and a sturdy protective net to keep the balls inside the play area when your kids take wild shots. If you're a shopper who likes to base your decisions on glowing reviews, this one has been covered by several sites, garnering positive reviews in many corners of the internet.
The Lancaster hoop's body stands on 1-inch thick plastic tubing designed to stand up to rowdier play styles. It has two rims for competitive play, and a two-player LED scoreboard with dual speakers to make you feel like you're on a real free-throw line. The two rims are 7.75 inches in diameter each, with protruding levers that precisely record every basket you make no matter how quickly you shoot.
Because it's a basketball arcade, the Lancaster basketball hoop is one of the best products on this list for indoor use. You don't have to run and dribble, thus eliminating the possibility that you might knock over a vase or shatter a window when you miss a shot. It also has that feel of a rim nailed to a door because you're stationary when you're taking a shot.
The entire assembly only takes 5 to 10 minutes to put together without the use of tools and is perfect for 4- to 8-year-olds. The two drawbacks of the Lancaster include its below-par build quality, which is kind of the norm when it comes to many kids' products, and its large size, which might give you a headache unless you have a dedicated game room.
A Buying Guide for the Best Indoor Basketball Hoop
Nowadays, indoor basketball hoops are nearly interchangeable with the basketball hoops you see outdoors.
They have great weatherproofing, a shatterproof backboard, and a base planted solidly on the ground, prompting great reviews from customers and professional players alike.
Perhaps the most noticeable difference between the two is an indoor basketball hoop's ability to become easily disassembled, with parts engineered to break away.
While it's helpful to read product reviews from people who have already bought the hoop you're eyeing, you can visit websites that specialize in product reviews.
Reviews from professionals are better for gauging the quality of a home product since reviews from regular customers tend to be less consistent. However, since you're already reading reviews and a user guide, you're one step ahead.
Here are some questions and answers to keep in mind when looking for the best indoor basketball hoop.
How will I use it?
A mini-basketball hoop is useful anywhere in the home. You can nail it to a bedroom door, a garage door, or a flat wall where it's safe to play.
However, nowadays, the term "indoor-basketball hoop" has been expanded to mean products that can transform into a freestanding hoop with the addition of a stem.
Mini-basketball hoops can sometimes be more delicate than freestanding ones because their staying power can depend upon the door to which you have them attached.
A shed door with no weatherproofing, for example, can start to rot when water starts seeping in from the spot where you've screwed in the hoop. A basement door can slowly chip away with repeated shots from even a 9-inch ball.
For narrow living spaces without much floor space, we recommend a hoop nailed to a door, but if you have a dedicated game room or a pool, you can forget about the tensile strength of a door and move on to a freestanding hoop.
What is it constructed from?
No matter how many glowing reviews the products you're eyeing may get, the materials used to manufacture them will tell how long they'll last.
You don't want products that will last only one or two seasons outside, and you might be surprised how many reviews overstate the staying power of a hoop.
The best material for a backboard is a polycarbonate fusion. It might be a little heavier than polyethylene, but it's more shatterproof and resistant to scratches.
If you buy a hoop that you nail to a door, and it's become part of your home's interior design, you would know why this is the best of the best when it comes to backboards.
The best of the best freestanding poles are telescopic, as they are height-adjustable and adjust to your kids as they grow.
The best bases are polyethylene, and many customer reviews and professional reviews have praised large bases that are capable of handling sand or water for the stability they add.
How durable is it?
Durability is where professional reviews lose a little bit of credibility because you have to use a product for years to see if it stands the test of time.
A basketball hoop can have all the best materials, but if its manufacturing process is shoddy, it won't last very long. It's best to stick to products from well-known brands like Lifetime and SKLZ Pro.
Make sure that your hoop's pole and basketball rim have an anti-rust coating because they're prone to corrosion even when they're indoors. Also, make sure that the backboard is not made of thin tempered glass, as it will break with little effort.
You can often gauge the durability of your hoop by how it feels while you're assembling it. Do pieces bend and feel like they'll snap? Do screws fit without you having to force them through? Does the net feel like it will tear with a minor snag?
Final Verdict: Best Indoor Basketball Goal
An indoor basketball hoop is a useful accessory for the family. You will have endless hours of fun and practice, especially with the changing norms of the world, leading us to work from home and shelter in place more commonly.
With the right eye for materials and build quality, you will find the right hoop for your living space that will accommodate the needs of your children as well as yourself, without feeling shortchanged by cutting the wrong corners in the end.
