While basketball athletes try everything to improve their gameplay and performance, they need a conducive environment to achieve that. One of the aspects that contribute to a good basketball player is a quality basketball court. While the fans couldn’t care less about the basketball floor and want to see their favorite players performing, the managers of sports facilities and coaches should know just how vital good sports flooring is.

A quality basketball floor reduces the chances of injuries, boots ball bounce, and enhances the players’ performance. Whether you are a sports facility manager or a coach looking for the best basketball flooring, here are the qualities to look out for.

Traction

First and foremost, good traction is essential when playing basketball because it is an ankle-shattering game. Basketball involves continuous swift moves, cuts, quick bouts of acceleration followed by sudden deceleration, all of which need a floor with good traction. Good traction means that too much or little floor friction is dangerous.

Therefore a quality basketball flooring features enough traction to enable safe movements in all directions. Since traction also depends on the floor’s maintenance, it is best to choose a basketball floor such as hardwood that is easy to maintain to keep the friction coefficient the same.

Shock absorption

Other than basketball, shock absorption is a demand for every type of sport. As earlier said, basketball is an ankle-shattering game, which stresses the ankles and the knees so much. Therefore, a quality basketball floor features excellent shock absorption to prevent straining these joints, minimizing the possibilities of long-term injuries in basketballers.

Although accidents are hard to prevent on a basketball court because players are always falling, running into each other, and landing the wrong way, a quality floor ensures they don’t suffer from injuries. Bear in mind that the shock absorption also depends on the subflooring, the layer below the top floor.

Vertical deformation

Vertical deformation means the ability of the floor to withstand and adjust when a player jumps or lands on the floor. In other words, it is known as the amount of giving. If the basketball floor doesn’t have enough vertical deformation, it negatively affects the player’s performance, and it can also contribute to injuries on the surface. So good vertical deformation enables the stability of play on the basketball court.

Ball bounce

Consistent ball bounce is necessary when playing basketball. In basketball, when players encounter an unexpected bounce ball, that disrupts the game’s flow, it can even cause unexpected accidents. As such, quality basketball flooring should be responsive and provide excellent ball bounce. The standard criteria for ball bounce in basketball require that the round height be at least 90%.

Aesthetics

The appearance and finish of the basketball floor also come into play when choosing the best flooring. That is why many people prefer hardwood floors for basketball courts because it is quality and aesthetically appealing. It also makes it easy to paint lines and logos on the floor surface.

The final words

A basketball floor should feature a combination of strength, flexibility, durability, good traction, easy maintenance, and pleasing aesthetics.