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Acrylic v. Tempered Glass Basketball Backboards

Most home basketball backboards are made from acrylic or tempered glass. Both of these products are clear. If you stand back 10 feet and look at both side by side it is difficult to tell the difference.


Acrylic backboards are a plastic material. They are constructed in several ways. The best acrylic backboards are cell cast. They also come in different thicknesses. Most are 3/8" thick. The better quality play and rebounding come from ½" thick acrylic backboards.


Acrylic backboards must be framed completely around the perimeter of the board with a steel or aluminum structure. Backboards that do not have this rigid structure have very poor playing characteristics. The heavier and more rigid the frame the better the rebounding or feel off the board.


Acrylic backboards tend to be a very soft material. Over time, they tend to get little scratches in them from scuff marks. This can give the board a dull or dirty look that can not be removed.


Tempered glass is a superior material for basketball backboards. Tempered glass weighs approximately 4-6 times as much as acrylic. This gives the entire system much more mass and resistance to movement. Tempered glass is much more scratch resistant than acrylic backboards. It can be cleaned very easily and does not attract dust or mold. The largest advantage of tempered glass is its excellent play and rebounding. There is very little drum head effect on tempered glass.


Tempered glass is usually 3/8 inch thick which plays much better than a ½ inch acrylic board. Some manufacturers offer their glass backboards in a full ½ inch thick. The NBA, NCAA and most gymnasiums use ½ inch thick boards. Hoops offers three basketball goals with ½ inch glass including the Pro Dunk Gold, Platinum and Diamond.


Hoops tested different backboard types to determine rebounding characteristics of different backboard thicknesses and materials. You can view the results to the experiment here.