#adReader-supported: we may earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never decides a ranking. How we pick · Disclosure
Manual figures as of Sep 21, 2026. Every hole size, bag count and cure time on this page was read from the manufacturer's own install manual or installation page on that date, and each is linked. Makers revise manuals without notice: confirm on the linked page (and the paper manual in your box) before you dig, and tell us if a figure has changed.
The table
| 54 in | 60 in | 72 in | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Board width | 4.5 ft | 5 ft | 6 ft (regulation, with 42 in height) |
| Playable width that fits | 10-12 ft (one car) | 20-24 ft (two cars) | About 30 ft and up |
| Player level | Family; kids to adults on a small slab | Teenagers and adults; the default | Competitive practice, half courts |
| Pole (Goalrilla FT) | 5x5 one-piece | 5.5x5.5 one-piece | 6x6 one-piece |
| Overhang (Goalrilla FT) | 3 ft | 3.5 ft | 4 ft |
| Install (Goalrilla guide) | 16 in x 48 in hole, eleven 80-lb bags, 72-hour cure, 3-4 adults; the 72 is the heaviest lift | ||
| List price (goalrilla.com, 2026-09-21) | $1,999.95 sale | $2,349.95 sale | $2,549.95 sale |
| Also at this size | Silverback SB54, Goaliath Prodigy, Lifetime 90014, NXT 54 | Silverback SB60, SBX 60, Goaliath Ignite, Mega Slam 60, NXT 60 | Goalsetter MVP 72, Mega Slam 72, Spalding 888 (72172) |
Same line, three sizes
What the table shows is that size is never just size. Goalrilla goes from a 5x5 pole to 5.5x5.5 to 6x6 as the board grows, because a wider, taller sheet of glass is a bigger sail and a heavier cantilever, and overhang grows from 3 to 3.5 to 4 feet to keep the pole out of the play on the wider board. Silverback and Goaliath do not scale the pole: their 54s and 60s share a 4x4, which is why a Silverback SB60 shakes more after a bank shot than a Goalrilla FT60 does, and why the SB54 on its 4x4 is the more rigid Silverback.
When 54
A single-car driveway, or a pole beside the garage with one car's width in front of it. The 54 keeps its edges over the pavement; a 60 hangs six inches over the lawn each side and the wing bank shot lands on grass. The 54 is also the size where a bolt-down glass in-ground starts under $1,000 (Silverback SB54, Goaliath Prodigy). Best 54-inch hoops.
When 60
Any two-car driveway, which is most of them. Sixty inches centered on 22 feet leaves 8.5 feet a side, a real wing shot; a 72 on the same slab leaves 8 feet and gives nothing back except the corners you cannot stand in. Every maker's mid and premium line centers on 60 for this reason. Best 60-inch in-ground hoops.
Width is only half the geometry. How far the board sits forward of the pole decides whether a baseline drive finishes at the rim or at the post, and most makers publish that figure as a maximum that shrinks as the rim is raised: basketball hoop overhang explained collects every published number on this site.
When 72
A pad wide enough that the corners are on pavement, roughly 30 feet, and a household that practices as if it were a gym. Then the 72x42 board, 6x6 pole and 4 feet of overhang earn their price and their four-adult lift. The direct-only 72s (Goalsetter MVP, Mega Slam) add a hinged anchor, half-inch glass and 5- or 6-foot floors, at freight-delivery weights. Best 72-inch hoops.
Our picks for this
The three sizes, one line
Goalrilla's FT54, FT60 and FT72: the same glass, anchor and warranty at three widths. Specs link to goalrilla.com.
Best for a one-car driveway
Goalrilla FT54
Limited lifetime warranty9.4/10One-car driveway: 54x36, 5x5 pole, 3 ft of overhang.
$1,999.95Amazon#ad · Price as of November 5, 2026 · Disclosure for the link to Goalrilla FT54
Best for a two-car driveway
Goalrilla FT60
Limited lifetime warranty9.5/10Two-car driveway: 60x38, 5.5x5.5 pole, 3.5 ft of overhang.
$2,379.58Amazon#ad · Price as of November 5, 2026 · Disclosure for the link to Goalrilla FT60
Best regulation-size Goalrilla
Goalrilla FT72
Limited lifetime warranty9.6/10Wide pad: regulation 72x42, 6x6 pole, 4 ft of overhang.
$2,670.06Amazon#ad · Price as of November 5, 2026 · Disclosure for the link to Goalrilla FT72
If you are not sure which size you already own, start with how to measure a backboard — the width across the face is the number every maker quotes. And if 54 is the size the driveway takes, best 54-inch in-ground hoops ranks the field at that width.
How we picked
What earns a pick on this page
Every pick here is built from figures you can check for yourself: the maker's published backboard, pole, overhang and adjustment specs; the hole size, bag count and cure time printed in its install manual; the warranty term in the maker's own wording, exclusions included, with the date we read it; and the failure patterns owners report (base cracking, backboard fogging, two-piece pole lean), which shape the “skip this if” line. Every figure links to where it came from.
Those figures go through one fixed rubric, so an 8.1 here means the same thing as an 8.1 anywhere else on the site and the top pick is the one that earns it for the driveway it is named for. Commissions never set a score or decide a pick. The rubrics and their weights are published.
Questions
Frequently asked
Is a 60-inch or 72-inch backboard better?
For a driveway, 60. A 72 only adds value when the playable width is about 30 feet and shots come from the corners; on a two-car slab the extra foot of glass is over the grass, and the 72 costs more, needs a bigger pole and is a heavier install.
Is 54 inches big enough for a backboard?
For a single-car driveway, it is the right size, and it is the smallest board the makers build with 3/8-inch glass and one-piece poles. For two cars, buy the 60.
What is the difference between a 60 and 72 inch backboard?
A foot of width and, on Goalrilla's FT line, four inches of height (60x38 vs 72x42), a 6x6 pole instead of 5.5x5.5, six more inches of overhang (4 ft vs 3.5), and about $200 at sale price. Regulation is 72x42.
Keep reading
Related on Rim & Rebound
- Backboard size guideAll sizes, 44 to 72.
- Best 60-inch in-ground hoopsThe default size, ranked.
- Best 72-inch hoopsRegulation, ranked.
- Best 54-inch hoopsThe one-car size, ranked.
- Where to put a basketball hoopMeasuring the playable width.
- 44 vs 48 inch backboardThe same question below 54 inches.
- How to measure a backboardWhich size you already have.
- Best 54-inch in-ground hoopsThe smallest glass size, ranked.
- Overhang explainedThe depth half of the same question.
Receipts
Sources
- Goalrilla — FT54 product page (read 2026-09-21)
- Goalrilla — FT60 product page (read 2026-09-21)
- Goalrilla — FT72 product page (read 2026-09-21)
- Goalrilla — Basketball Hoop Installation guide (read 2026-09-21)
- Goalrilla — Limited Lifetime Warranty (Escalade Sports warranty sheet as republished by BasketballGoalStore, an authorized dealer; read 2026-09-21)
- Silverback — SB54 product page (read 2026-09-21)
- Silverback — SB60 product page (read 2026-09-21)
- Goalsetter — MVP Adjustable Basketball Hoop product page (read 2026-09-21)
- Mega Slam Hoops — Mega Slam 72 product page (read 2026-09-21)
Every figure above is a published one you can click and check. Specs come from the maker's own product pages (linked on every product), install figures from the maker's manual or installation page with the date we read it, and warranty terms from the maker's warranty page or manual. Buy buttons go straight to the current Amazon listing, so the price you see is today's. Where a maker leaves a figure off the page, the card says “not published” rather than guessing. Read how we pick.