Even with breakaway rims, you can still break a backboard with enough power. The question is whether the rim is bolted into the backboard versus if the rim is part of the support stanchion. There was an episode of "Sport Science" where they had Amare Stoudemire throw down like 1,000 dunks as hard as he could and the backboard never broke. The reason was that most modern rims are part of the stanchion and don't put any stress on the backboard. The backboard hardly even touches the rim. With rims that are bolted into the backboard, a powerful dunk can put so much stress on the backboard that one crack will cause a chain reaction. Easy way to tell which kind of rim you have is if it looks like a pole is coming out the back of the rim, it's a modern style basket.
I always thought the point of breakaway rims was to provide a little bit of give in case a player did a running dunk at high speed, their forward momentum wouldn't swing them so violently.
Last Edited: 1/25/2018 1:43:31 PM by shabamon