A lot of information needs to be available to help spectators follow a basketball game. Obviously, keeping up to date on the score, time remaining, shot clock and fouls is important. This is why LED screens and electronic scoreboards are essential in basketball games.
Spectators must be able to easily read all of the game information on the scoreboard. LED screens have made this easier, because they allow venues to set the sizes, shapes and colors of the figures they display.
One factor that has a significant impact on how electronic scoreboards are configured is the size of the basketball court: The larger the court, the larger the numbers need to be.
FIBA regulations require high-level games to have at least two electronic scoreboards that can always be seen by the players, referees and spectators. Therefore, it is advisable to install one scoreboard at each end of the court.
An electronic scoreboard for high-level competitions must display:
The time remaining, always as a countdown, and each team’s points, including each player’s points.
The uniform number for each player. Currently, players can select from 1 to 99 as well as 0 or 00. (A team can have both a 0 and a 00.) Each team can have a maximum of 12 players.
For all this information to be visible from anywhere on the court, the size of the figures used for each function is regulated, for example, 30 centimeters for the points and game time, and 15 centimeters for the size of the players’ last names.
Control of the electronic scoreboard follows a precise procedure: One referee keeps track of the minutes played, another monitors the shot clock, and another follows each team’s points and fouls. To that end, officials use a series of easy-to-use consoles, and they are charged with keeping track of the referees’ instructions and avoiding errors that might affect the game’s final outcome.