What happens when an NBA player breaks a backboard? Shattering a backboard is something that has long been connected to some of the most charismatic individuals ever to grace the court. Although still seen on occasion in high school and college basketball, the NBA  over the years has improved the equipment they use resulting in a shattered backboard being almost non-existent in the league these days.

So What does happen when an NBA player breaks a backboard? When a player breaks a backboard, the game stops and the broken one is replaced with the new one. The player gets a technical foul for this action and after the game, he is fined. A player can’t be ejected for breaking the board, however,  the defending team gets the ball.

Breaking the backboards was a common trend back in the 90s and even early 2000s. Right now such things do not happen frequently. 

However, it will always be remembered as an iconic act and a feat of strength that would without fail made jaws hit the floor due to the spectacle unfolding before those who were lucky enough to witness it. Let’s explore the history and details around this topic.

A brief history 

When James Naismith came up with basketball, there were no backboards at all – the basket was simply attached to the top. The first backboards appeared at the very end of the 19th century – and originally served to prevent the fans sitting in the stands above the ring from interfering with the course of the game.

In 1916, the backboards were pushed back 2 and then 4 feet to knock the ground out from under the feet of the “basketball spidermen”. Since 1910, backboards have been made of glass, and their fragility is increasingly being tested.

First broken backboard – What happens when an NBA player breaks a backboard?

The first backboard in the history of the league was destroyed on November 5, 1946 – the future actor Chuck Connors, then playing for the Boston Celtics, managed to break it with a regular throw down.

Apart from this occurrence with the backboard, he would have remained an unremarkable center, who did not even fully play his first season in BAA. 

Like some other athletes who returned from the front after World War II, he played basketball only in the fall and winter, and already in mid-February, he began retraining as a baseball player. This did not last long, however, because after being expelled from the Boston Celtics, he finally lost faith in his basketball talents. Deciding to focus on professional baseball league matches, he soon lost interest in the occupation as well. After retiring from sports and starting a career in cinema, he became a truly famous person – he played the main role in the popular TV series.

Artificial measures to “protect” backboards

Subsequently, artificial measures to prevent such excesses were taken in the NBA, where Darryl Dawkins’ activities in the systematic destruction of backboards led to the fact that the league began to punish the guilty with unsportsmanlike fouls.

Natural measures were also soon followed – new backboard designs practically exclude breakage.

So what happens when an NBA player breaks a backboard? How about we Explore the top 10 NBA players with backboard shattering dunks.

10. Chris Morris in 1993

In a 1993 matchup with the Chicago Bulls, New Jersey Nets forward Chris Morris left a spider web effect on the backboard in New Jersey with a two-handed jam. Tate George dumped a pretty no-look pass off to Morris and he hammered it home with authority. The crowd heard the glass shatter and they loved it. 

9. 1995 “Big Country”

During the 1995 NCAA Tournament, “Big Country” ended Oklahoma State’s first practice at the Kings Dome with a shower of glass. The Cowboys were doing a drill where the big men would catch a pass off the backboard and try to dunk it, and Reeves decided to go reverse bringing most of the glass down with him. His teammates had to pull some pieces of glass out of his neck afterward.

8. Blue Edwards 1994 Dunk contest

“Blue” Edwards took flight and shattered the backboard at a Midnight Madness event at East Carolina in 1994. The dunk wasn’t during a game or with anyone in his way but was pretty impressive nonetheless.

7. Davin Ham’s put-back dunk

In the 1996 NCAA Tournament Darvin Ham made a big play in a competitive game between Texas Tech and North Carolina. Ham grabbed a rebound off of a missed layup and demolished the backboard with a two-handed slam. The dunk tied the game up and swung the momentum in favor of the Red Raiders. They went on to win the game and advance to the Sweet 16.

6. OSU Jason Keep in 2000

In 2000, Oklahoma State led Arkansas-Little Rock by eight with 43 seconds on the clock. Jason Keep sealed the deal for OSU with a stolen pass that led to a fast-break dunk that the rim couldn’t handle. The crowd went wild as Keep came down pumping his fist.

5. Rookie Shaq – the breaker of backboards

During his rookie season in1992 with the Magic, Shaq had a put-back dunk in Phoenix that brought the entire basket down. This dunk didn’t even break the backboard; it made the foundation of the basket fold like an accordion. A second basket had to be brought out onto the floor while the America West Arena maintenance crew attempted to fix the base of the one that was destroyed by Shaq.

4. Jerome Lane

This 1988 dunk brought on one of the most iconic calls in sports history. Jerome Lane of Pittsburgh filled the lane on a fast break and soared over some poor soul from Providence for a monstrous Statue-of-Liberty jam that absolutely wrecked the backboard. This play was featured in ESPN’s “100 Greatest Sports Highlights.”

3. Darryl Dawkins’s 1979 dunk

On November 13, 1979, in the middle of a game at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Philadelphia 76ers center Darryl Dawkins leaps over Kansas City Kings forward Bill Robinson and slam-dunks the basketball, shattering the fiberglass backboard. The result, according to people who were at the game, was a sound like a bomb going off in the middle of the court.

2. Young MJ crashes it in Italy

In 1985 during an exhibition game in Trieste, Italy as part of a promotional tour for Nike, Michael Jordan would break a backboard. Wearing the black, white, and orange of Stefanel Trieste who was taking on Juve Caserta, “Air Jordan” put on a show, scoring 30 points and despite the glass shattering dunk taking place outside the U.S., against a non-NBA team, it still goes down as one of the best highlights in the career of an athlete that has so many. 30 years later Nike would release “Shattered Backboard” Air Jordan 1’s to commemorate the incident.

1. The Shaq Attack: Shaquille O’Neal’s Backboard-Breaking Legacy

Effortlessly swinging his elbows, towering over opponents, and delivering a dunk that brought both the crowd and the backboard to their feet—that’s how Shaquille O’Neal, or “Shaq” as he’s fondly known, made his mark on the game of basketball in the 1990s. Standing 7 feet 1 inch tall and weighing in at a robust 294 pounds, Shaq was a force to be reckoned with on the court—and especially notorious when it came to breaking backboards.

Shaq’s Early Days and Basketball Career

Shaq entered the NBA as the first overall pick in the 1992 draft. Starting his rookie season with the Orlando Magic in 1993, he quickly became a sensation and was nothing short of a spectacle. His sheer size, combined with his agility and skill, made him both a valuable team player and a crowd favorite.

The Incidents: Shattering Records and Backboards

However, it wasn’t just his gameplay that left the crowd in awe—Shaq’s ability to shatter backboards turned him into one of the most talked-about players in the history of the sport. In one unforgettable incident, one of his signature powerful dunks damaged and deflated the hydraulic system that held up the backboard, causing it to fold up and descend to the floor. The crowd went wild, cheering on the spectacle that only someone of Shaq’s size and strength could cause.

Against the New Jersey Nets, Shaq provided another jaw-dropping moment. This time, his intense dunk resulted in him pulling down the entire backboard. The force was so strong that it even dislodged the shot clock, causing it to come startlingly close to hitting him—an event that could’ve ended in serious injury.

The NBA Intervenes and Makes a Change

Despite the exhilaration that these events brought, they also posed serious risks to the player’s safety—notably when Shaq barely escaped a potential injury due to the falling shot clock. These incidents served as a wake-up call for the NBA. They acted to prevent similar occurrences in the future by pledging to increase the strength and durability of backboards.

Shaq’s powerful dunking and the consequential breaking of backboards led to changes in the rules, regulations, and equipment of basketball that are still in effect. Shaq didn’t just break backboards—he broke the one-size-fits-all mold that the NBA had relied on for its equipment. He ushered in an era where the power and the athletic capabilities of players were now significant factors to consider in the designing and manufacturing process of the backboards.

Shaq’s Impact: A Lasting Legacy

Shaquille O’Neal’s impressive journey, from his early days to his rise as one of the NBA’s greatest centers, is deeply intertwined with the evolution of the game itself. Through his legendary dunking prowess, Shaq didn’t just wow fans and establish his remarkable legacy—he forced the NBA to change and adapt.

In the realm of basketball, the era of ‘Shaq Attack’ will always be applauded for demonstrating the sheer power of an athlete, shattering long-standing norms, and taking the game of basketball to an even higher level.