All About Online Basketball Games

Basketball is definitely one of the most popular sports in its home country, the U.S.A. A Canadian by the name of James Naismith actually invented the game while living in Massachusetts back in 1891. Since that time, it has grown into an international sport that is featured at the Summer Olympics. It has been the influence behind countless books, movies and even clothing and shoe lines. Of course, online basketball games have also become a hit too, as were traditional video games before them. Here at Sporty Games Hub, we have a number of different basketball games you can choose from. So whether you currently play, used to or just want to give it a go, this is the site for you to get your fix.


Basketball online games can basically be broken down into four different types:

  • Shoot Outs
  • Dunk Contests
  • Team Play
  • Themed Games

Amongst these four types, there are all kinds of variety. They could also be reorganized into online, free and basketball flash games too. In any case, the three above are the type we’ll focus on for you, the player.

Shoot Outs

The game of basketball is one by the team that can make the most baskets. So players who can shoot the ball well are a big part of the game. To that end, it’s not uncommon to see players religiously practicing their shot in order to get it as reliable as possible. This is the basic premise of basketball flash games that focus on shootouts. The idea is simple: you and another player are going to see who has the more accurate shot. Every other part of the sport is dismissed. There’s no defence, no dribbling, no passing, in fact there aren’t even other team members for you to pass to. It’s just a straight up game of who can outshoot the other. However, there are a number of different ways shoot outs can work. Some are played like Horse, where a player needs to try and make the same basket their opponent did or risk gaining a letter. Five letters loses. Others will mean a certain spot over and over, often the three point or foul line. The idea here is generally either to make as many of the baskets you’re given or to make as many as possible within a certain time limit.

Dunk Contests

Another fun version of basketball online games is the dunk contest. This one is much like the aforementioned shoot outs, except you’re taking the ball to the air and looking to slam it through the hoop. Just like with the jump shot, dunking is an important part of the game. It’s also one that has a lot of pride attached. Those who are best at dunking are often the most revered in the sport. Plus, it just looks really cool to do.

Team Play

As the name suggests, this is the most pure form of basketball free games. It’s meant to mimic the actual sport as people play it all around the world and in the professional leagues. A lot of times, you’ll be put in charge of a team of five people. However, three-on-three is also a common situation. Although you’ll have virtual team mates, when you play online, you’re usually in charge of the whole team yourself. So whomever you pass the ball to is a person you’ll now play as.


There can be a number of stipulations added to this type of game in order to make it more interesting. You may play to a certain number or may only have a certain amount of time to score the most baskets possible and make your team victorious. With this type of basketball game, a lot of the rules are often thrown out to make things more interesting and accessible to players who may not have played a lot in real life. So it may not be possible for the ball to go out of bounds. Fouling other players may also be very difficult or just downright impossible. By getting rid of these parts of the game, though, players can actually have a lot more fun.

Themed Games

On the other side of the spectrum are themed games. This is where something like team play is taken and a fun twist is added to it. So, for example, there is Spooky Hoops, Kung Fu Hoops Madness, Simpson Hoops and countless other versions of basketball you can play online that have a fun added dimension to them. Sometimes you simply get to play as fun characters. Other times, the sport itself gets dimensions added to it. You may be able to jump higher than in real life, there might be powerups to get for added abilities, the list goes on. While these games may not really resemble the real thing much, they’re still a lot of fun to play. So if the above sounds of interest to you, these types of basketball free games are definitely worth checking out. They combine all the fun of basketball with the ease and comfort from playing at home.