by M. Sparga

Created on: April 04, 2007   Last Updated: October 05, 2007

The 10ft regulation for basketball hoops is rooted in the history of the sport. When Dr. James Naismith invented the sport by attaching peach baskets to his barn or balcony, he probably never dreamed that the placement of these baskets would lead to the setting of some of basketball's most dramatic features, such as slam dunks, alley-oops, and goal-tending.

Naismith and company would simply throw the ball into these baskets, so they were placed sufficiently high enough to allow for a decent arc. The slam dunk in all of its spectacle and glory didn't come into being until fairly late in basketball's development. The emphasis at first was on taking a shot at the basket, not merely stuffing it in.

As basketball became an official sport, the 10ft height regulation made sense since the idea of the slam dunk wasn't much of a factor in the game at first. Old video footage of basketball games shows that early players were clearly shorter and less athletic than the NBA players of today, so at the time, the 10ft height regulation presumably made it difficult for players simply to dunk the ball into the basket, yet it allowed players a reasonable chance to make lay-ins and jump shots.

Nowadays, however, most players are much taller, stronger, and athletic. As the average height of basketball players has steadily risen, slam dunks and the like have become well accepted, and even expected, in the sport. Dunking has become such a major part of the game that it now commands its own annual tournament held around the NBA All-Star Game. As the sport has evolved, the height has remained.

All things considered, 10ft remains a fitting height to challenge players and yet accommodate the new moves that their athleticism (and the rules) allow them to perform.

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