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Step-by-Step How to Draw a Basketball Court

Step-by-Step How to Draw a Basketball Court

There may be a multitude of reasons why you may want to draw a basketball court.  Perhaps you would like to practice your drawing skills, or perhaps you would like to show an offensive or defensive scheme, or perhaps you simply love basketball and enjoy all-things related to it.

Whatever it may be, below we’re going to show you, step-by-step, how to draw a basketball court.

Start With a Proper Piece of Paper

Ideally, when drawing a basketball court, you will want to do so with a rectangular piece of paper.  As a basketball court is rectangular in shape, having a rectangular piece of paper will help you to draw a more accurate representation of the court and basketball rims.

In addition, drawing a basketball court on a vertical sheet of paper will give you less overall width and room to work with.  You will also have a lot of white space leftover that will distract you from the picture once it is completed.

Draw Two Rectangles

Ideally, you should be using a simple ruler when drawing your basketball court.

Begin by drawing one rectangle approximately 1/4 of an inch away from the edges of the paper.  Using a ruler will help you to keep your lines straight and neat.

From there, draw another rectangle within the first.  This rectangle should be closer to the first on the top-and-bottom halves of the paper but should provide more room near the right and left-hand sides.

Draw a Half-Court Line

Again, using a ruler, draw a half-court line directly down the middle of the second, smaller rectangle.  This should be done exactly at the half-way point of the smaller rectangle, and you can use your ruler to measure the length for accuracy.

Position the Quarter Lines and Hoop Placements

Once you have designated and drawn the half-court line, use the ruler to measure a quarter of the way from the half-court line on both sides.  Simply draw a small line from the larger rectangle, slightly past the smaller one, and onto the court.

Do this on both sides of the court and on both halves past the half-court line.

Then, draw another line at the midpoint of the smaller rectangle on both the right and left-hand sides.  This line should be vertical and should represent the position of the basketball hoop.  Don’t forget, this line should match-up on both sides and should be directly in the middle of the right and left-hand sides.

Draw the Hoop and Tipoff Circle

Very simply, draw a triangle coming off the line you previously drew on both the right and left-hand sides.  This triangle represents the actual basketball hoop.  It should all be coming together now.

Similarly, at the midpoint of the half-court line, draw a small circle, representing the tipoff circle.  This is the part of the court where the initial tipoff of the ball occurs between opposing players and teams.

Draw the Free Throw Lane and Outer Tipoff Circle

Drawing the free-throw lanes is simple enough.  Simply draw a rectangle, of equal length, from the basketball hoops on both sides.  The rectangle should come out approximately 1-2 inches from the hoop and should be even and centered on both the right and left-hand sides.

From there, draw a larger circle directly in the middle of the court.  This should overtake the original tipoff circle and be larger in size.  It should also go out to both halves of the court equally.

Draw the Three-Point Lines

Now, from the base of the right and left-hand sides, where the hoop is, make a semi-circle out past the free-throw line.  This will represent the three-point line and should come out past the free-throw line by some distance.  Make sure to do this for both sides of the court and to keep track of distance so that they are equal on both sides.

Complete the Free Throw Lane and Hoops

Lastly, complete the free-throw lane by drawing a circle connecting the rectangular free-throw lane to the three-point line and slightly into the free-throw area.  This should be done on both sides of the court and should be equal in height on both sides.

Lastly, and perhaps most easily, draw a small circle in the middle of the triangle on the basketball hoops.  This circle should be large enough to represent the hoop but not large enough to overtake the entire triangle.