Spalding NBA Hercules Pro Glide Advanced Lift Portable Basketball System - 52" Acrylic Backboard

So I read a lot of reviews. A LOT! Not just on this model, but on many. Most stated missing parts. But I found one guy who posted a review that the other parts where in the base. So I made a mental note. So as I had laid out all the parts, emptying the base in the process, and thought I had missing parts. I reach in, used a flash light, and sure enough, there were more parts stuck inside. All were there.Anyways, it took about 3-4 hours to put it together, but it is AWESOME. This one has the bigger base, which I wanted for greater stability (39 gallon compared to most 34 gallon). The back board is good, pretty solid. Love the black and clear coloring, angle is great, size of backboard is solid and big (but not too big), adjusting is easy, rim has nice give to it and spring action. Also, we live in New England and fill the base with sand that way there is never any water freezing and cracking the base.End of the day, I was worried about spending so much money on this and concerned over all reviews. For us, it is PERFECT!

The package arrived promptly just like Amazon Prime delivery usually does. I arranged for two neighbors to help with the assembly because I have a physical disability. Lots of parts and the worst instructions I've seen in quite a long time and that's saying something as I have a Twelve year old and have suffered through 12 Christmases and lots of cheap toys that needed assembling. This thing has instructions that appear to be written in English but I assure you that whoever translated them has no real working knowledge of the English language. I knew I should have went through all the parts to see if everything was there but I was excited to see my daughter start her WNBA career in my driveway. We got everything laid out and laughed at the number of parts as well as the hysterical slaying of the English language in the instruction booklet. By step three it was clear there was going to be a problem. So on any big project like this I expect there to be a snag or two so I always keep a garage full of miscellaneous bolts, nuts, screws and washers to augment anymistakes by someone who gets lulled into a coma by the 11th hour of a 12 hour shift on some assembly line in Beijing. But I was surprised by the omitting of the first or second most critical piece of a basketball goal. All three pieces of the pole assembly were gone from this gymnasium quality goal setup. So I am out of twenty bucks on labor costs to my two neighbors. My child had no Easter gift this year. And I'm probably going to be involved in a denial contest between ups and Spalding over where my pole is stuck. I won't even go for the obvious punchline to that. I'm giving this thing three stars. I'll let you know my final rating for the product after I see how quickly the vendor makes good on the parts and my daughter has a chance to play with it awhile.

Our experience pretty much followed the other reviews. The box was in bad shape with several holes. When we were wheeling the box up the driveway, a washer rolled out the side of the box. Several of the plastic bags full of hardware were torn open in the box and nuts/bolts were all over the place.We followed the other recommendations and laid out all the parts in number order before starting. Fortunately, we were only missing one part (a nut, of which there were supposed to be 14 pieces, so we were able to skimp one off from the cover installation). The whole process, from box open to playing basketball, took about 3 and 1/2 hours. You definitely need two people for the assembly.Tried filling the base with water, but of course one of the caps leak. Once the water finishes leaking out we'll see if we can screw it on again, otherwise might have to try the sand.

It works as advertised. I bought this for my kids to play in the driveway. At first, I thought it would not stand upright against the slope of the drive; it does that just fine. The water in the base keeps it steady. The height adjusts well for 6 year-olds and 17 year-olds. The backboard is adequate as far as rebounding; not as good as an in-the-ground unit, but as good as any portable unit I have seen.It wasn't the easiest to put up; quite a few missing parts. I had to call the 800 number for several important and a few minor parts. They were shipped out to me within a few days without any question. Because of the delay with the parts, the assembly took longer. It was probably about 4 or so hours of actual assembly. Hints: bring a charged up drill, with an extra battery, and have at least 2 people.My kids play on it for sometimes 2 hours a day, along with neighborhood kids. It has become the favorite of the neighborhood above the other kids' goals so, I guess that means it has the kids' seal of approval. That means, it has mine.I researched and looked at several goals before deciding on this one. I am happy with the decision.I would recommend this.