There are three considerations when installing a new court or renovating an existing one: resilience, consistency, and player comfort.
Resilience
It’s not just a matter of how tough the material you use is, it’s how easy it is to renew when hundreds of matches have been played. While artificial indoor surfaces might seem tempting, there’s a reason why professionals opt for wood. Likewise, laminate overlays will not do and offer little of the long-lasting, hard-wearing reliability of a true hardwood floor. Why not? Properly made and installed hardwood will hold up to the abuse that a basketball court suffers without splintering and when the time comes the floor can be sanded to restore its perfect surface without fear of compromising its quality or performance.
Consistency
A smooth, even and splinter-free surface is vital for player safety but also to ensure the ball bounces in a regular, predictable manner. Anything less than professional quality risks misalignments that can’t just be polished out. Imagine dribbling the ball cross court, ready to make shoot in the final game of the season when an imperfection in the court’s surface makes the ball bounce away from you. A situation the right court-surface will avoid.
Player comfort
The reason hardwood floors are the professional mainstay beyond the points above comes down to the resistance they give each footfall and every jump. Players need a combination of a surface strong enough and hard enough that they can exert maximum effort while still being able to rely on shock-absorption to reduce their risk of injury. Only hardwood floors offer the right balance.