# Shattering basketball backboards **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** basketball-nba\ **Created:** [May 27, 2025, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865 "2025-05-27T16:13:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/1 "2025-05-27T16:13:47Z")
My grandson was watching a compilation of players shattering the backboard while dunking. Most of the clips were in the past so I assume it is less common today with better construction. The questions are: How long is the game delayed to replace a backboard? Way back when I can see the game might have ended because of it. It is obvious from viewing all these clips that the vast majority are caused by the player swinging on the hoop with both hands. Maybe one in 12 or more happens from the hands making incidental contact doing the dunk. In fact it looks like many are trying to break the glass with much celebrating. Are players today allowed to swing on the hoop? I saw numerous bloody shoulders and arms. Has any serious injury ever occurred? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/2 "2025-05-27T16:21:22Z")
ISTR when Darryl Dawkins broke a couple of backboards back in the 70s, it took about an hour to get the game going again, between cleaning all the glass & confirming the court was safe to play on, and actually getting a new backboard in place. The last broken backboard was in the 90s by Shaq, which seems fitting. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/3 "2025-05-27T16:29:23Z")
I think the NBA changed the design so that the hoops are now spring loaded. If enough weight, like a full grown human, hangs from the hoop, it flexes downward so the glass backboard isn’t subjected to as much stress as with the old, inflexible hoops. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/4 "2025-05-27T17:03:55Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > The last broken backboard was in the 90s by Shaq, which seems fitting. Wow, that long ago! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/5 "2025-05-27T17:16:44Z")
Spring-loading the backboard seems like such an obvious thing that I wonder why it wasn’t done earlier. And reading the Wikipedia article on basketball backboards led me to this [YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlosgsHfhT8) that shows that the rim is no longer attached to the backboard, but instead the metal frame below it. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/6 "2025-05-27T17:52:48Z")
Shaq’s examples in his rookie year didn’t shatter the backboard. It took the entire damn stanchion down, but didn’t shatter the backboard. Man was scary strong. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/7 "2025-05-27T17:55:32Z")
Yup, [I remember watching this game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK1Ltjl_7xk), Shaq was at his LOWEST weight ever. Hilariously bringing the entire thing down took less time to fix than shattering the backboard usually did. It’s cool to see, but that was legit a dangerous situation. He didn’t even seem to put much force on it. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/8 "2025-05-27T18:05:43Z")
Is one player allowed to bend the hoop down while the other throws it through?. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/9 "2025-05-27T18:13:16Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Shaq’s examples in his rookie year didn’t shatter the backboard. It took the entire damn stanchion down, but didn’t shatter the backboard. > > Man was scary strong. This has nothing to do with strength. He was hanging on the rim. He wasn’t exerting more force than his weight. ---
**Author:** ![PetroDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@PetroDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetroDude)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/10 "2025-05-27T19:01:10Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Is one player allowed to bend the hoop down while the other throws it through?. No. I believe it is considered basket interference and would be a technical foul. I’m not sure how long a player could hang on the rim before a shot was attempted before it would be called though. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/11 "2025-05-27T19:03:36Z")
Yeah, Shaq’s incident was a very basic dunk, as compared to [Darryl Dawkins](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1J86HLTyiM), where he slammed the ball from behind his head, while flying through the air. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/12 "2025-05-27T19:34:17Z")
“…the first NBA player to shatter a backboard, [Chuck Connors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Connors) (who would become far more famous as an actor), did not do so with a dunk. When playing for the Boston Celtics in 1946, Connors took a set shot during pregame warmups, hitting the front of the rim. Because an arena worker had failed to place a protective piece between the rim and backboard, the backboard shattered.” > **[Backboard shattering](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backboard_shattering)** > > A backboard shattering (also known as backboard breaking or backboard smash) is an accident or stunt in basketball. It occurs when a player performs a slam dunk with sufficient force to shatter the tempered glass of the backboard, often causing the hoop to break off as well. Games are usually canceled or delayed and it incurs a foul for the offending player and costs of cleanup and replacement. Shattering a backboard can be dangerous, sending various small pieces of the backboard glass flying, ... ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/13 "2025-05-29T01:01:02Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Spring-loading the backboard seems like such an obvious thing that I wonder why it wasn’t done earlier Isn’t part of basketball lore (at the time of its invention) how they used to climb a ladder to retrieve the ball out of the peach basket? How long did it take them to figure out cutting out the bottom? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/14 "2025-05-29T01:02:43Z")
I would hope no more than five minutes. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/15 "2025-05-29T03:21:22Z")
In the late 1960s, they were moving from wood/plywood/composite backboards to glass. Maybe they could now charge more for the end court seats? 😀 Fans could now wiggle those snake like things to distract the foul shooter. The earliest glass boards would shatter into shards when an off-balance dunker grabbed the rim to prevent crashing to the floor. The rims back then were solidly bolted to the backboards, not spring loaded. Lots of blood but I don’t remember any deaths. Later, the safety glass type boards were introduced along with the spring loaded rims. **Fun Fact** : For a number of years, dunking was prohibited in high school AND college basketball. Draconian measures; first it was a technical to dunk during warmups as an intimidation play against the other team. That was shut off by making dunking a forfeit. Lou Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, aka Roger Murdock) and I at a lowly 6’2" had the same number of dunks in our freshmen college years. The prohibition led Kareem to develop his trademark skyhook shot. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/16 "2025-05-31T17:12:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I would hope no more than five minutes. Nah, they weren’t very good at aiming back then. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2025, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/17 "2025-06-01T17:31:00Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > He wasn’t exerting more force than his weight. At first, at least, he would have been. There’s a difference between just hanging from the backboard, and catching it. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2025, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattering-basketball-backboards/1018865/18 "2025-06-01T18:34:26Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > > [@ekedolphin](#): > > > > Shaq’s examples in his rookie year didn’t shatter the backboard. It took the entire damn stanchion down, but didn’t shatter the backboard. > > > > Man was scary strong. > > This has nothing to do with strength. He was hanging on the rim It sure looks to me like he pulled it down. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RMV7fPy__Mo/maxresdefault.jpg "Shaq BREAKS backboard vs. Nets !! #shorts #nba") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMV7fPy__Mo)