Here’s the rundown on official regulations as well as some selling tips to how to boost basketball numbering sales.
By Paul Sabatini, Marketing Sport Coordinator, Stahls’, St. Clair Shores, Mich.
Team numbers for basketball range from traditional to modern, rounded styles. Some teams will want to stick with a classic look, but others may be interested in changing things up and having uniforms that offer a fresh look. For these customers, there are unique number choices available that feature narrow or longer stem heights.
What numbers basketball players can wear is regulated. These regulations help officials and referees report player’s numbers to the scoring table.
Here are the legal number ranges:
• 00, 0-5, 10,15, 20-25, 30-35, 40-45, and 50-55
• Team rosters may not include both 0 and 00
You’ll find that recreational and elite leagues follow the same rules of numbering because referees officiate at all games. Regulation basketball numbers and styles are used across the board for girls’ and boys’ teams.
Street ball and three-on-three teams generally use number styles and placements that are nontraditional. This type of decoration is generally all about the attitude or message a team is trying to present.
Going with a more unique number will kick up the entire look of a uniform. Set your shop apart by showing teams a variety of number options you have selected beforehand. I recommend including a couple of traditional choices and then sprinkle in five unique alternatives.
You also can offer the option of a three-color number without layers. This can be achieved in two ways.
Single-color heat transfer materials are applied one color at a time. By using a pre-spaced number style with a gap outline, you can remove the center piece of the digit and replace it with a pre-cut number piece in a different color. Once applied, you’ll have the gap outline color with the garment color showing in between along with the center digit color. This requires two applications; one for the outline color material and one for the center digit material.
The second method is to use digital transfer numbers. This is a one-step application offering unlimited colors because the selected pattern is digitally printed onto the heat transfer media. This provides a lightweight decorating method with only one layer. Choose from popular effects like camouflage, animal prints, sports textures, and more. You also can achieve a two- or three-color digital number that is only one layer and one application.
Numbers are generally placed on the center front and center back of the basketball jersey, and in some cases, on the front left of the player shorts.
Common number sizes for basketball are as follows:
Youth Size Adult Size
Name 2" 3"
Front Number 3" 4"
Back Number 6" 8"
Shorts Number 3" 4"
File name: Stahls’ Basketball Primus and Future Film.jpg
No matter what level team—recreational through professional—nor what sex, all basketball numbers must follow official rules. Photo courtesy of Stahls’, St. Clair Shores, Mich.
File name: Stahls’ CP_Camo_num_text.jpg
Digital transfer basketball numbers can be created with a pattern such as camouflage, animal prints, or ball textures. It’s an easy way to create a multicolor number without the heavy hand multiple layers can create. Photo courtesy of Stahls’, St. Clair Shores, Mich.
File name: Stahls’ Gap Outline closeup
A gap outline type of number offers a multicolor look without the weight of multiple overlapping layers. The inside number can be swapped out with the outside number of another color, and then the gap between the two numbers lets the garment show through creating a three-color look. Photo courtesy of Stahls’, St. Clair Shores, Mich.
