Outdoors NearbyBasketball court dimensions in feet: NBA, college, high school and half court
A full NBA basketball court is 94 feet long and 50 feet wide, or 4,700 square feet. WNBA and college teams play on the same size. A high school court is usually 84 by 50 feet, and an international FIBA court is 28 by 15 meters. The rim sits 10 feet above the floor at every one of these levels. What changes from league to league is the three-point line and the width of the lane.
We've mapped 25,771 places with basketball courts across the US from OpenStreetMap. 25,771 of them are inside a park, and 20,626 share the park with a playground.
Basketball court dimensions by league
Distances to the three-point line are measured from the center of the basket. The free-throw line is 15 feet from the face of the backboard in the NBA, college and high school.
| NBA | WNBA | NCAA | High school (NFHS) | FIBA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length × width | 94 × 50 ft | 94 × 50 ft | 94 × 50 ft | 84 × 50 ft | 28 × 15 m (91 ft 10 in × 49 ft 2 in) |
| 3-point line, top of arc | 23 ft 9 in | 22 ft 1.75 in | 22 ft 1.75 in | 19 ft 9 in | 6.75 m (22 ft 1.75 in) |
| 3-point line, corners | 22 ft | not confirmed | 21 ft 8 in | 19 ft 9 in | 6.60 m (about 21 ft 8 in) |
| Lane width | 16 ft | 16 ft | 12 ft | 12 ft | 4.90 m (16 ft 1 in) |
| Free-throw line from baseline | 19 ft | 19 ft | 19 ft | 19 ft | 5.80 m (19 ft) |
| Rim height | 10 ft | 10 ft | 10 ft | 10 ft | 3.05 m (10 ft) |
We couldn't find the WNBA corner distance in a primary source, so we left it out.
NBA basketball court dimensions
The NBA court is 94 by 50 feet with a 16-foot lane. The three-point arc is 23 feet 9 inches from the center of the basket. In the corners the line turns into two straight segments that run 3 feet in from each sideline, which puts them 22 feet from the basket. That's why the corner three is the shortest shot in the league. Under the basket, a half circle with a 4-foot radius marks the restricted area, where a defender can't draw a charge.
WNBA and college
The WNBA moved its three-point line to 22 feet 1.75 inches in 2013, the same distance FIBA uses. Its lane went from 12 to 16 feet back in 2004, matching the NBA. NCAA Division I men switched to 22 feet 1.75 inches for the 2019-20 season, with Divisions II and III following a year later. College women adopted the same line starting with the 2021-22 season. The college lane stays at 12 feet.
High school basketball court dimensions
High school courts governed by NFHS rules are typically 84 feet long and 50 feet wide, 10 feet shorter than a college floor. The three-point line is 19 feet 9 inches from the basket all the way around, the lane is 12 feet wide, and the free-throw circle has a 12-foot diameter. Many older school gyms are shorter still, some only 74 feet long. According to Jr. NBA, most youth three-point lines also sit at 19 feet 9 inches or at the top of the key.
FIBA and the Olympics
FIBA writes its rules in meters. The court is 28 by 15 meters, measured from the inner edge of the boundary lines. The arc has a 6.75-meter radius, and the straight corner lines sit 0.90 meters from the sidelines. The far edge of the free-throw line is 5.80 meters from the end line. FIBA backboards measure 1.80 by 1.05 meters, and the rim sits 3.05 meters above the floor.
Rim, backboard and free-throw line
- Rim: 10 feet high at every level. The NBA specifies an 18-inch inside diameter, and the inside edge of the ring sits 6 inches from the backboard.
- Backboard: 6 feet wide and 3.5 feet tall in the NBA. The painted square above the rim is 24 by 18 inches, whatever the size of the board.
- Free-throw line: 15 feet from the backboard and 19 feet from the baseline. That puts the face of the backboard 4 feet inside the baseline.
Put those numbers together and the center of the rim ends up 5 feet 3 inches from the baseline. You'll need that figure if you're painting an arc yourself.
Basketball court dimensions for a half court
A half court is the full court cut at the midcourt line. That makes it 47 by 50 feet for NBA, WNBA and college dimensions, and 42 by 50 feet for a high school court. The width doesn't change, so a half court still needs the full 50 feet if you want the corner threes.
| Court | Full court | Half court |
|---|---|---|
| NBA, WNBA, NCAA | 94 × 50 ft (4,700 sq ft) | 47 × 50 ft (2,350 sq ft) |
| High school | 84 × 50 ft (4,200 sq ft) | 42 × 50 ft (2,100 sq ft) |
| FIBA | 28 × 15 m (420 m²) | 14 × 15 m (210 m²) |
Outdoor and park basketball court dimensions
No rulebook covers a court in a public park. Each city builds what fits the site and the budget, so you'll find full courts, single half courts and lone hoops at the edge of a parking lot. Some outdoor courts copy the high school layout, others paint a three-point line at a different distance or skip it entirely. Measure the line yourself before you practice for a game played on regulation lines.
The 10-foot rim and the 15-foot free throw are the numbers most likely to carry over. If a park court has a lane painted, compare its width with the table: 12 feet means amateur lines, 16 feet means NBA or FIBA lines.
Backyard half court dimensions
Work backward from the lines you want. These sizes use high school measurements, with the rim center 5 feet 3 inches from the baseline:
- Lane and free-throw line only: the free-throw line is 19 feet from the baseline, and the top of the 12-foot circle reaches 25 feet. A pad around 20 feet wide and 25 feet deep holds the 12-foot lane and the whole circle.
- High school three-point arc: the top of a 19-foot-9 arc sits 25 feet from the baseline, and the arc spans 39 feet 6 inches side to side. Plan on about 40 feet of width, plus a few feet behind the arc so shooters don't step off the slab.
- College or NBA arc: the college arc tops out a little over 27 feet from the baseline and the NBA arc at 29 feet, and both need the full 50-foot width. At that point you're building most of a regulation half court.
Leave clear space behind the hoop's post and along the sides, and check zoning and HOA rules before you pour concrete.
Find a basketball court near you
Our basketball court map lists outdoor courts in parks across the US. The states with the most mapped courts are California (2960), New York (1686), Texas (1592) and Pennsylvania (1513). Cities with many: Minneapolis (293), Chicago (193), Brooklyn (188), Philadelphia (164), Madison (152), Saint Paul (143). If you also play tennis or pickleball, see our guides to tennis court dimensions and pickleball court dimensions.
Court data from OpenStreetMap. Park courts vary, so line distances on a given court may differ from the official ones.
Sources
- NBA Official Rulebook, Rule No. 1: Court dimensions and equipment and Jr. NBA interactive court
- FIBA Official Basketball Rules 2024, Art. 2 (court), and FIBA basketball equipment regulations (backboard, ring)
- SLAM: WNBA extends three-point line and Seattle Times: WNBA widens lane to 16 feet
- Sports Illustrated: NCAA men's three-point line moved and NSGA: NCAA women's three-point line
- Coversports: NCAA court markings and high school court markings
- Wikipedia: Basketball court (older high school gyms)