Spalding NBA Hybrid Portable Basketball Hoop System - Acrylic Backboard

Ok so yes this is not easy to assemble but it’s a nice basketball goal. The reason why it is not easy to assemble is mainly because the directions are shit and it doesn’t have a comprehensive pictoral list of all the screws. It’s just inconsistent. It’s also fairly easy to miss the orientation of something … and mess the whole thing up. So I took some pictures and included them here. The angles for screwing things together are awkward. I would have designed the thing differently only so it could be easier to put together.All the parts are there. If you think you are missing some check inside the poles. There aren’t extras so don’t misplace them. You need at least two adults. It took two of us 3 or 4 hours. And you need a table or saw horse, a scrap piece of wood, socket wrench and extender, regular wrenches, a marker that shows up on black, a tape measure, 4 bags of sand 50 lb each.Yes there’s a protective film on the backboard that you can remove - it’s not cloudy and scuffed.After we finished putting it together, it was fun as hell to play with. It seems like it would be durable and I can’t imagine it blowing down but I’ll update if that’s the case.If you put it together right it isn’t annoying to change the height. It was 10 Ft after we put it together and we shortened it to 9 ft 4 inches for my 10 year old but it’s not so low I don’t enjoy it as well. Don’t make the mistake we did with the orientation (pictured) then the crank won’t turn fully and things don’t fit as well and adjusting it is much much harder.It’s not super noisy but you can adjust the recoil on the rim when you are putting it together (pictured - no recoil or rattle when you tighten it all the way). I can’t imagine adjusting it now because it was so much work but will see.Anyway, I would recommend the goal and am happy with the purchase. The assembly was tough but I have a feeling it is for any well made goal. Fortunately I don’t have those experiences to compare to! I hope I never have to put one together again.

Looks like a professional hoop. The thick metal rim with the curved metal plate that stiffens the rear of the rim make for a stiff and sturdy rim. And unlike my last hoop with the plastic cover that hides the jam spring this one is a thick metal plate. The high gloss on the rim is heavenly and reminds me of the hoops at my gym. Love the way it looks. It's sturdy and easy to adjust. Took about 4 hours to assemble. The directions were simple to follow but I installed the screw-jack assembly 180 degrees off but only took 5 minutes to undo and install it correctly (that's what happens when you skip steps and try to hurry). The sound that the ball makes off the backboard is a perfect thud and sounds solid. Put 200 lbs of sand (left in bag) in it and started playing right away. The instructions say to fill with sand and water but it seems sturdy enough without the water.When I first put this in my wishlist the price was around $600, but when I eventually purchased it 5 weeks later it climbed to $800... don't sleep on this thing, the price fluctuate wildly. As of today (7-24-2021) the price is $630... UGH!!!! LOL... It's all good... worth every penny.

I was apprehensive about buying this system after reading reviews stating how difficult it was to build and also because the Spalding website did not have any helpful info or demo's of this system. Not one Spalding portable was available to see in-person at our local sporting goods retailers either. Fortunately I found a YouTube video that reviewed demonstrated the system so I could see how it handled real shots. Spalding's demo video never shows a basketball getting anywhere near the hoop or backboard and barely shows the system at all!As noted in many reviews the assembly instructions are not the greatest but they provide enough useful info and a nut/bolt index so you can get the system built in 3-4 hours with 2 people. Most of the hardware is packaged into separate plastic bags that are, for the most part, associated with specific sections. Make sure you READ AHEAD before tightening anything. There are important notes and diagrams found in the pages after the section you're working on. The elevator tubes diagram is hard to follow but you can make sense of it by going to the next page and looking at the backboard diagram. Check the alignment of the base to backboard before tightening the bolts. The tubes and braces can be adjusted and aligned if your assembly is crooked at first. Take your time and pay CLOSE ATTENTION to drawings and details and you'll do fine. If you have never used a wrench you might want to have Amazon build it for you.When we put it up in the driveway we really appreciated the base section that holds sand bags as we decided to move it from our first spot. We didn't fill it with water but placed 3 extra sand bags on top and used the included corkscrew hold-down. We are also not aggressive dunkers. The backboard and rim take shots solidly and responds as you would expect. The cover that is mounted to the struts under the hoop directs missed and made shots back towards the playing area. The height adjustment crank works smoothly and can be set to any height between 7'-6" and 10'If you are looking in the $500 price range for a hoop set you won't be disappointed with this Spalding system.

Only took 1.5 hours to put the unit together. After reading everyone’s posts I was worried it would take longer and require more people.If your handy you can do this alone. The product is solid and well built.