Basketball Court Size

Why is there this confusion often over the basketball court size? Because the two main bodies that govern basketball do not really agree on what should be the ideal basketball court dimensions. Since they both lay down slightly different basketball court sizes, each time, it leaves the viewers confused about the basketball court measurements.

Size of Basketball Court

The two biggest ruling basketball bodies in the world today are the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the National Basketball Association in US (NBA). The FIBA is the world body for basketball that organizes all the international matches, and has the final say on the fixtures and the results of matches of any two national teams. It is what we call as the apex body of basketball in the world. The NBA on the other hand is the apex basketball body in the United States which governs the games played between two teams in that association. Now these to do not quite agree on the basketball court and hence there are little differences in some of the basketball court sizes.

To correct this problem, here's an article on basketball court sizes which looks at both the court measurements.

Length and Breadth
Let me start with the length and the breadth of the basketball court. The FIBA defines the length of the basketball court to be 91.86 ft (28 m) and the length of an NBA court is 94 ft (28.65 m). The breadth of a FIBA court is 49.21 ft (15 m) and the breadth of an NBA court is 55 ft (15.24 m).

The Basket
Both FIBA and the NBA agree that the basket should be fixed at a height of 10 ft (3.05 m) from the playing surface.

Restraining Circle
The measurements of the restraining circles from where the jump ball is taken in case of a foul to are agreed upon by both FIBA and NBA. The diameter of the restraining circle is 4 ft (1.22 m).

Center Circle
The center circle is, quite simply, the circle in the center of the court. The diameter of the center circle as per NBA rules is 12 ft (3.66 m) and as per FIBA rules is 11.81 ft (3.6 m).

Three Point Line
The three-point line is an arc on both sides of the court. If you shoot a basket from behind the three-point line, your basket will earn 3 points for the team as opposed to the 2 points your basket will get should you shoot from inside the three point arc. In NBA the three point line is located 23.75 ft (7.24 m) from the center of the basket. In FIBA, the three point line is presently 20.5 ft (6.25 m) from the center of the basket, but will be extended to 22.15 ft (6.75 m) after October 2010.

Key Area
The key area is another part of the basketball court which both the bodies of basketball do not agree on. The FIBA states that the key area, which is the shaded area on the basketball court ought to be in a trapezium shape which is 19.69 ft (6 m) long at the end-line and 11.81 ft (3.6 m) at the free throw line. The NBA court on the other hand has a rectangular key area which is 16 ft (4.88m) at both the end-line as well as the free throw line.

Free Throw Line
The free throw line, which as the name suggests is a line from behind which a free throw is taken, is 15 ft (4.57 m) from the backboard in NBA while it is 15.09 ft (4.6 m) from the backboard on a FIBA court.

So this was all about the basketball court size. Basketball is a fun sport to play and is one of the most popular games all over the world. So I hope you too will enjoy it!