Slam Dunk - Notable Dunks - Broken Backboards

Broken Backboards

In the past, it has been possible for players to dunk a basketball and pull the rim down so hard that the glass backboard shatters, either around the rim itself or, at times, shattering the entire backboard, or the entire goal standard fails. Reinforced backboards and breakaway rims have minimized this at the college and professional levels, but it still happens at lower levels.

All-star power forward Gus Johnson of the Baltimore Bullets was the first of the famous backboard breakers in the NBA, shattering three during his career in the 1960s and early 1970s. Darryl Dawkins of the Philadelphia 76ers was also notorious for two glass-shattering dunks in 1979 resulting in the league threatening to fine him and eventually installing breakaway rims. Twice in his rookie season (1992–93) during games, center Shaquille O'Neal dunked so hard that he broke the hydraulic support of one goal standard (against the Phoenix Suns) and broke the welds holding up another goal standard, causing the basket to break off and fall to the floor (against the New Jersey Nets), although in neither case did the glass break. This resulted in reinforced backboard supports as well. During that same season, New Jersey's Chris Morris shattered a backboard in a game against the Chicago Bulls (the most recent shattered-backboard incident in the NBA to date). The NBA has made shattering the backboard a technical foul. This has assisted in deterring this action, as it can cost the team points.

In the ABA, Charlie Hentz broke two backboards in the same game on November 6, 1970 resulting in the game being called. In the NCAA, Jerome Lane shattered a backboard while playing for Pitt in a 1988 regular-season game against Providence, and Darvin Ham did the same while playing for Texas Tech in a tournament game against North Carolina in 1996.

The Premier Basketball League has had two slam-dunks that have resulted in broken backboards. Both came consecutively in the 2008 and 2009 PBL Finals, and both were achieved by Sammy Monroe of the Rochester Razorsharks.