The Best Flooring For An Indoor Basketball Court

If you are considering an indoor basketball court then the choice of flooring is going to be one of the biggest considerations. In fact, right after ensuring you have the space for a court of the right dimensions your thoughts will likely move to the best type of basketball court flooring for your needs and your budget.
Basketball court flooring has to have certain properties that make it suitable for purpose. Such as:

• Fire resistance.
• No splintering. Does not release toxic substances.
• The right level of elasticity to absorb impact to avoid injury but not the energy from the ball to ensure the ball bounces effectively and uniformly.
• Strong enough to take the weight of equipment and persons using the floor.
• Shock absorption - the court surface should absorb impact rather than the basketball players.
• Uniform surface - completely level and with equal ball bounce across the basketball court's entirety.
• Sub-floor must have the right mix of flexibility, rigidity and strength.
• The right level of superficial friction - too much friction on indoor basketball courts can cause injuries such as sprains.
• Colour - colour must show the court markings clearly.
• Light refraction must be within 0.25 and 0.50 for court marking visibility.
• No deformation due to pressure - this comes down to the right thickness, viscosity and elasticity.
• Acoustic insulation - to avoid vibration and excessive noise.
• Thermal insulation - to ensure comfort and avoid excessive energy use.

Whatever the type of flooring materials that you consider and choose for your indoor basketball court these considerations must be top of mind.

The remainder of this article will examine the different indoor basketball court flooring options: hardwood flooring, synthetic flooring, sports tiles and cushioned flooring. It will look at their advantages and disadvantages to give you as much information as possible when choosing basketball court flooring.

Hardwood Flooring

The traditional type of flooring for indoor basketball courts is wood flooring. It is also the most favoured flooring within the National Basketball Association (NBA). Specifically, the most popular tree species used on hardwood courts is hard maple. One of the NBA teams' floors is red oak (the Boston Celtics) but hard maple is the top choice.

In the UK Beech wood flooring is another popular option for sports flooring including many indoor basketball courts and tennis courts.

The tight grain of both hard maple and beech make them strong and durable and, importantly, uniform in elasticity or 'bounce back'. That the NBA chose wooden flooring for their world-class athletes for whom fatigue and injury to their joints, particularly their knees could be a multimillion-pound problem, demonstrates the excellent shock absorbancy of this playing surface.

Hardwood it should be noted, however, is not suitable for use as an outdoor basketball court material. They are also among the most expensive options for basketball flooring.

At Wooden Floors UK we specialise in Junckers Flooring, their sports flooring is among the best in the world.

'Junckers produces high-quality wooden basketball floors that offers unmatched performance, which enables top athletes all over the world to perform at their absolute best on a basket floor.

As leading manufacturer of solid hardwood sports flooring, Junckers has a long-standing track record in providing professional sports flooring for basketball courts. Most recently, in a partnership agreement with FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, Junckers served as Official Technical Supplier of FIBA EuroBasket 2017. In the past, we have also teamed up with FIBA to provide sports floors for EuroBasket 2009 as well as the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Junckers’ basket floors are made in solid hardwood, one of the most durable surfaces available and virtually unbeatable in terms of lifecycle costs. All our sports floors comply with Sports England and Sport Scotland’s guidance for Affordable Sports Floors and are the ideal choice for schools, colleges and universities'.

Synthetic Flooring

Is it purely nostalgia that keeps hardwood as the flooring material of choice for international competitions and the International Basketball Federation?

There are some excellent quality synthetic indoor basketball court flooring options. We list three of the best below.

Types of Synthetic Flooring

Polyurethane This type of plastic court flooring has high levels of shock absorption to protect players from injury. It is seamless and is consistent and uniform in look, feel and playability including ball response. It is also easy to customise; with court markings or the school or team badge or logo.

Vinyl

Vinyl court flooring especially LVT (luxury vinyl tile) is a great option for schools especially where budgeting is a large factor and where basketball isn't the only sport or activity that the sports flooring will be used for.

It comes in a variety of thicknesses, with different shock, acoustic and thermal absorbing qualities depending on requirements and budget.

Rubberised Tiles

Rubber flooring is another great budget option for schools and other facilities where the flooring will be used for a wide variety of activities.

The excellent shock-absorbing properties of rubber make it a safe option and its durability means that these often modular rubber flooring options can be used for both indoor and outdoor courts.

Benefits of Synthetic Flooring

Some of the clearest advantages of using synthetic flooring for basketball courts are price and durability.

Another advantage is that any markings can be added as part of the floor, rather than court markings being painted on or added as stickers.

Synthetic flooring for indoor basketball courts also has the benefit of modern science on its side when it comes to shock-absorbing properties, consistency and uniformity and easy maintenance.

Sports Tiles

These PVC tiles are easy to install, can be temporary or permanent and can be used in indoor or outdoor settings. They can be installed on grass, concrete, sand or any hard surface for an indoor or outdoor court.

Available with court markings already added and with great accessibility options such as ramped edges these are a budget choice worth considering.

Choosing the Right Flooring for Your Needs

When choosing the right basketball flooring for your needs you should consider how often the court will be used and for what. Is it going to be used purely as a basketball court? And if so how often? Or will it be used for other activities too? Your budget will affect the type of basketball court flooring you can afford; some of the budget options are excellent; however, if you want tradition you can't beat a hardwood basketball court.

Conclusion

There is a lot to think about and a lot of options available to you when choosing the best flooring for an indoor basketball court.

If you are hoping to be able to use your court to compete and be approved as a venue for FIBA (International Basketball Federation) games then hardwood, preferably hard maple is your go-to option. However, the vast majority of floors that will be used for basketball courts will be used for other activities too and for other uses, other flooring options such as synthetic court flooring are not only a cheaper alternative but can also offer more shock absorption and increased sporting functionality.