Basketball Court Dimensions
Official NBA and FIBA basketball court measurements
Basketball Court Dimensions
Official NBA and FIBA basketball court measurements
What are the Official Basketball Court Dimensions?
Basketball court dimensions differ between the NBA (North American professional league) and FIBA (International Basketball Federation, governing all international play including the Olympics). NBA courts are slightly larger at 28.65m × 15.24m compared to FIBA's 28m × 15m. Both standards are used worldwide — NBA dimensions in North American professional venues, FIBA in international and most non-US leagues.
The three-point line is one of the most impactful court features and has changed significantly over time. The NBA three-point line ranges from 7.24m at the wings to 6.70m in the corners. FIBA's three-point line is 6.75m (6.60m in corners) — notably shorter, which makes direct comparisons of three-point shooting percentages between NBA and international play challenging.
The key (painted area / lane) is rectangular and used to regulate positioning during free throws and define restricted zones. Under NBA rules it is 4.88m wide; under FIBA it is 4.90m wide and trapezoidal in shape — a notable difference that affects post play positioning.
How to Read This Diagram
Key Court Zones
- • Restricted area: 1.25m radius — no charge calls inside this arc
- • Free throw line: 4.57m (NBA) / 4.60m (FIBA) from backboard
- • Three-second lane: Offensive player cannot stay here for 3+ seconds
- • Half-court: 8-second rule — ball must cross in NBA (8s) / FIBA (8s)
- • Corner three: 6.70m (NBA) / 6.60m (FIBA) — shortest three
Why Small Court Differences Have a Big Effect on Shot Selection
The gap between the NBA and FIBA three-point lines is only about half a metre at the wing, but that half-metre is exactly the difference between a shot being a comfortable look or a genuine stretch for most players — which is why a player's three-point percentage can shift noticeably just from switching between the two competitions, independent of any change in their actual shooting form.
The key's shape carries similar weight for post players specifically: a wider or trapezoidal lane changes how much room a big man has to establish position close to the rim before the three-second count forces them to reset, so scouts and coaches watch how a player's post game holds up under both key shapes before judging how their skills will translate across competitions.
?Frequently Asked Questions
The NBA developed its court standards independently in the 1940s–50s based on existing arena sizes in North America. FIBA standardised international play separately. The differences are small but meaningful — the shorter FIBA three-point line makes it easier to shoot threes, and NBA-trained players often find adapting to international play challenging partly because of these dimensional differences.
The key (also called the lane or paint) is the rectangular area from the baseline to the free throw line. The three-second rule prevents offensive players from camping in this area, forcing perimeter play and ball movement. Post players (centres, power forwards) compete to establish position at the edge of the key. The key also defines the restricted area under the basket where charge calls are disallowed.
The basket rim is exactly 3.05 metres (10 feet) above the floor — a standard that applies to both NBA and FIBA, and has been unchanged since Dr. James Naismith nailed the original peach basket to a balcony railing at 10 feet in 1891. The backboard extends to 2.9m above floor level, and the basket centre is 1.575m horizontally from the baseline.
On its own, not hugely — the extra length and width add up to only a small percentage more floor space overall. What actually shapes gameplay more is the combination of court size with the shot clock and three-point distance together, since a bigger floor with a shorter shot clock forces faster ball movement, while a bigger floor with the longer FIBA three-point distance rewards spacing differently than the NBA's tighter geometry does.
FIBA used a trapezoidal ("wine glass") key until 2010, when it switched to the rectangular shape to match the NBA more closely and simplify international scouting comparisons. Some older diagrams and lower-level competitions still reference the trapezoid shape, which is why it is still commonly discussed, but current official FIBA rules (since the 2010 rule change) use the same rectangular key shape as the NBA, just 4.90m wide versus the NBA's 4.88m.
An NBA court covers roughly 436.7 square metres (28.65m × 15.24m), while a FIBA court covers 420 square metres (28m × 15m) — a difference of about 4%. For context, that's roughly the size of a small studio apartment's worth of extra floor space, spread across the full length of the court, which is why the size difference is barely noticeable to players in real time despite being measurable on paper.
Beyond simply marking the midpoint, the half-court line is the reference for the backcourt violation: once the offensive team gets the ball across it, they cannot legally bring it back into their own defensive half. It also anchors the centre circle, used for the opening jump ball and to mark the boundary of the restricted "frontcourt" for backcourt-violation calls.