Best Basketball Gifts: 8 Perfect Gift Ideas for Basketball Fans

Wondering what to get for a basketball fan? Look no more –here are the best basketball gifts you can give.

You’re scrolling through websites and heading to stores to find the perfect gift for a basketball fan.

“What should I get? What would be a good gift? What would they even want?”

I know how you feel.

Well, not know how you feel. But I have had family members tell me how hard it was to find me a basketball-related gift.

They said that they didn’t know anything about basketball and didn’t know what I needed/wanted or already had.

And this is true.

There are so many things that you can get. You can buy memorabilia, apparel, gear… the list is so big that it can be overwhelming.

Add to that the possibility that the item you want to get is already owned by them. Or the item features a team that they just absolutely hate because the only reason why that team won the title that year was because of a fluke shot!

Sorry, some bad memories flooded in there.

Anyway, I remember this one winter holiday back when I was a teen.

My mom (I guess she didn’t know what to get me that year) bought me this NBA puzzle book. It was full of riddles and quizzes about NBA history and basketball rules.

Bless her heart for trying to find a gift that I would like, but I was a little disappointed.

I mean, I was grateful for receiving a gift, but at the same time, the book was meant for little kids.

I finished that thing in a couple of hours.

To help you pick the best basketball gifts for your beloved fan, here are some of the things I would love to unwrap:

[Full disclosure: The following links are affiliated links as I participate in affiliated programs. What this means is that if you follow the link and purchase something, I will get a commission, at no extra cost to you.]

Basketball

The first item on this basketball gift list is a basketball. Pretty obvious, right?

You need a basketball to play basketball. On top of that, balls get ruined over time, especially if you use them a lot.

So if the person you are buying a gift for is a hard-core player or plays outdoors a lot, a basketball may be something that they are looking to upgrade.

The ball that I suggest is the Wilson Evolution.

This ball is one of the best and it’s not that expensive either. It’s durable, has good bounce, and feels good to dribble and shoot.

However, it is meant for indoor play. If you use this ball at the park, it will get chewed up and ruined within a year.

So if you prefer, you can buy an indoor/outdoor ball instead. These are meant to be used on multiple surfaces.

The one I like is the Wilson NBA Authentic Series Basketball. This ball is similar to the Wilson Evolution but has a harder or rougher surface that will withstand the pounding on hard, concrete courts.

You can learn more about these basketballs here.

Wilson Evolution

Buy from Amazon here.

Wilson NBA Authentic Series Basketball

Buy from Amazon here.

Basketball Pump

The next item I would be stoked to get is an air pump.

I know, it’s basic. But you don’t know how annoying it is to realize that your ball is flat because you were too lazy to take it out of your cold trunk 2 weeks ago.

Or, you realize that and your pump is broken so you can’t fill your ball with air.

It’s irritating.

And if it’s happened to me, I’m sure it has happened to others, too.

So a good pump you can get is the Franklin Sports Ball Pump and Pressure Gauge.

It has a gauge so that you can accurately fill your ball to the right PSI.

Your ball won’t be too bouncy or not bouncy enough.

It will be just right.

But if the giftee isn’t a perfectionist when it comes to the PSI, then the Franklin Sports Ball Maintenance Kit is good too.

Franklin Sports Ball Pump and Pressure Gauge

Buy from Amazon here.

Franklin Sports Ball Maintenance Kit

Buy from Amazon here.

Basketball Books

If the basketball fan you are buying a gift for loves to read, you should get them an NBA or basketball-themed book.

My favourites are:

Becoming Kareem: Growing Up On and Off the Court (Read my review here)
The Mamba Mentality: How I Play (read my review here)
Shaq Uncut: My Story (read my review here)
Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream

Also, here are some that I’m interested in reading one day:

Basketball Socks

Like the air pump, this is a pretty basic basketball gift. But good basketball socks or sports socks are really important.

I used to play in regular Hanes or Fruit of the Loom cotton socks and I would constantly get blisters.

The reason why is that everyday socks don’t have enough cushioning and aren’t made with the right materials.

Basketball socks are mainly made from polyester, which has better airflow and dries quicker, which will prevent blisters because the feet won’t be all sweaty and slippery in the socks. Yuck!

And if they already have socks, it’s okay if you give them more because you can never have enough.

So, here’s the pair I like:

Nike Elite Basketball Crew Socks

Buy from Amazon here.

Sports Bag/Backpack

This next basketball gift is big. Seriously, it’s much bigger than all the other items on this list so far because it’s meant to hold all the other items.

Did you guess what it is yet? It’s a bag, silly!

Now, the person you plan to buy gifts for may already own a bag that they really like. If that’s the case, just skip this section and go check out the next few basketball gifts.

However, if he/she doesn’t own a bag or he/she wants to get a new one, continue reading.

So, bags can be tricky to gift.

There are so many types and sizes. There are backpacks, duffle bags, and drawstring bags. But the types that I like are basketball backpacks.

These tend to have plenty of pouches for all of my things like a basketball, personal belongings, dirty gym strips, and slots for my shoes.

Also, I find backpacks are much more comfortable to carry around than a duffle bag.

So, here are a few bags that are similar to mine and/or that I like:

Under Armour Undeniable NBA Backpack

Buy from the NBA Store here.

Nike Elite Hoops Pro Backpack

Buy from Amazon here.

Rec Game

Trust me when I tell you that every basketball fan loves the arcade basketball game. Also, trust me when I tell you that every single one of them would love to own this game.

The only ones who wouldn’t want to are people who already own one or have no space for it.

Other than that, every fan would want to have this thing in their space so that they can bring back some great memories with family and friends.

I had a family member give me one of these games before and it was really fun.

But the quality of it wasn’t very good and it broke within a couple of hours of play.

The one she got me was a door-hanging one with plastic tubes and a thin fabric base, which ripped.

So if you were to gift an arcade basketball game, I would suggest you pay more for something with better quality that will last longer.

The Pop-A-Shot Arcade Basketball game fits this bill. The device is a full-size, 2-player game and can be folded up for easy storage.

It’s also made with steel tubes and a thick nylon ramp. And, as a bonus, there are 16 different types of games (or modes) that can be played on this, and that is just awesome!

Pop-A-Shot Arcade Basketball

Buy from Amazon here.

Mini Basketball Hoop

This is probably one of the most given basketball gifts* and we love it!

For whatever reason, it just brings feelings of joy and good childhood memories.

I remember trying to pull off Jordan’s dunks on these all the time when I was a kid. I also played so much H.O.R.S.E and Pressure with my friends on it too.

*Notice how I said “probably,” right? I don’t actually know and didn’t do any research around that statement, so don’t hate if I’m wrong!

So if you want to buy one to gift, you should get the Rawlings NBA Polycarbonate Hoop Set.

But to be honest, all of these mini hoops are the same. What I mean is that they’re all made with the same materials and have the same features.

The reason why I’m suggesting the one above is that for a little more, you can get an Official NBA product.

It’ll have more meaning because it’s memorabilia.

But if you don’t want to spend the extra few dollars or the meaning doesn’t matter to you, then you can get the other hoops.

They’re pretty much the same. However, some come in different sizes and some are glow-in-the-dark.

Rawlings NBA Polycarbonate Hoop Set

Buy from the NBA Store here.

SKLZ Pro Mini Basketball Hoop with Ball

Buy from Amazon here.

Basketball Video Games

If all the previous basketball gifts are duds, you can always just get an NBA video game to give.

This doesn’t have much meaning to it, but the giftee will still be pretty happy with it (unless they already own it) because video games are fun.

So here are a couple of games that I think would make good gifts:

NBA 2K
NBA Playgrounds

Conclusion

There you have it.

That’s 8 of the best basketball gifts (plus some bonus ones) that you can give to a basketball fan.

Is there anything else would you add to this list?