Anybody else wonder how the NBA strengthened the rims since the...

[brush]

Chocolate Thunders days of rims and glass backboards giving way from powerful players dunking on them?

Now 250-300lb guys dunk and hang on the rim and nothing gives way. How the hell do those rims, embedded in glass, or is it plexiglass, survive this?

[hlthe2b]

1. I know this will be considered blasphemy, but i've always wondered

why they allowed players to grab and hang onto the rim to begin with?

Just askin...

[LastDemocratInSC]

2. It was not "legal" until the mid 70s

It's damn dangerous, too. Trying to tip the ball away during a slam dunk can result in broken bones. But, it's a crowd pleaser, so hats off to bread and circuses!

[mpcamb]

7. In college ball dunking was banned in the NCAA from 1967 to 1976.

The reason for this can be attributed to Lew Alcindor (Kareem); the no-dunking rule is sometimes referred to as the "Lew Alcindor rule."

[ret5hd]

3. Probably something like Lexan...

which is used, among other things, for machine safety enclosures. Strong stuff.

[YOHABLO]

4. Since many players are close to 7ft in height, why not elevating the basket six inches?

[jmowreader]

5. I found the specs for the backboards...

https://www.spaldingequipment.com/filesimages/SpecLibrary/Basketball/Glass-Backboards/413000-SuperGlass-Pro.pdf

This is how they survive when in the old days they didn't: The rim (the official name for it is the goal) is no longer attached to the glass, and the rim assembly is designed to flex. The backboard has a metal frame around it. The frame is attached to the backstop assembly - the big metal apparatus that holds the hoop up. There are long bolts passing through the goal bracket, then through the backboard frame, and from there into the backstop arm.

[brush]

6. Thank you. This explains it. There was a lot of engineering that went into making the "goal"...

and glass unbreakable.

[The Polack MSgt]

8. Send it in Jerome!