All The Best Basketball Gifts For Your Favorite Hoops Fan

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The holiday season is almost here, which means it’s time to find the perfect gifts for the most important people in your life. This can be a bit tricky when it comes to shopping for a basketball fan — sure, you want to get them an authentic jersey honoring their favorite player or a pair of the hottest sneaks, but those can end up costing you a serious chunk of change. Are you able to spend “Off-White x Jordan Collab” money?

That doesn’t mean you’re out of luck. Basketball contains multitudes and there are plenty of gifts out there that won’t force you to fork over hundreds of dollars. We don’t just mean stocking stuffers, either. Below, you’ll find options for the perfect basketball-inspired presents for less than a C-note.

Spalding NBA Replica Basketball

Price: $34.99

Every basketball fan needs a basketball, and since you’re not forking over $170 for an official NBA game ball, why not get the closest thing to it for a fraction of the price? Spalding’s replica game ball is good for indoor or outdoor hoops, just toss it in the trunk of your car or in a backpack and you’re always going to be ready to hoop. There are other balls you can grab, like the Spalding Neverfla — shout out to that old commercial with Paul Pierce — but in terms of versatility, a ball that plays on any surface is as good as it gets.

Stance x NBA Socks

Price: Varies, but never more than $20

Socks have become a fun form of expression for basketball players and fans over the years, and no one does socks quite as well as Stance. They’re of high quality, sure, but what makes these so fun is how many options there are. Stance has dozens upon dozens of NBA socks with a seemingly endless array of designs. Whether someone is a fan of individual players or has a favorite team — there are even socks for squads in the NBA 2K League — you’ll be able to find something for a basketball fan at a relatively cheap price.

Homage NBA Jam t-shirt

Price: $32-$36

They’re a touch pricy, but the Ohio-based company makes some of the best shirts in the game right now. Their best pick for the basketball fan in your life is the NBA Jam-inspire shirts, which feature a collection of team’s best 1-2 punches and four attributes that make each of those players unique. The pricier ones are for the current pairings, while the cheaper ones are throwbacks — my personal favorite is the Shaq and Penny Hardaway shirt for the Orlando Magic.

New sneakers

Price: Varies

Every basketball fan needs to have some fire on their feet. Whether they’re taking the hardwood or trying to stay stylish off the court, everyone who loves the game wants to make sure their sneaker game is as good as it gets. You can head to all the usual footwear retailers for this — Foot Locker, Champs, Finish Line, etc. — and there are plenty of places online that can help you buy new and used sneakers like eBay, StockX, and GOAT.

And of course, make sure you check out our sneakerhead guide if you want to know some of the hottest styles this year.

NBA TV Live TV

Price: $59.99

One thing that can be frustrating about League Pass is how NBA TV games are blacked out, so why not spend a little cash on getting the network? Beyond the opportunity to watch national games — regardless of whether a person’s team is on them — it gives basketball fans the opportunity to stay up-to-date on all the goings-on across the league.

Roku Streaming Stick

Price: $49.99

There are a billion different products to let basketball fans consume League Pass, but I adore my Roku. It’s easy to use, has only ever given me minor issues that usually are fixed with the classic “unplug it and plug it back in” method, and of course, there’s way more than League Pass on there — the ESPN and TNT apps are crucial for me when I want to go back and watch national games the following day.

Basketball books

Price: Varies

Some of my favorites from this year were Sprawlball: A Visual Tour of the New Era of the NBA by Kirk Goldsberry, Elevated: The Global Rise of the NBA by Harvey Araton, and LeBron Inc.: The Making of a Billion-Dollar Athlete by Brian Windhorst. My stack of books to read includes Net Work: Training the NBA’s Best and Finding the Keys to Greatness by Rob McClanaghan and Boom Town by Sam Anderson (which isn’t totally about basketball, but if you know someone who read it, odds are they have told you to do this).

If you need a stocking stuffer or a Secret Santa gift for a basketball fan, there isn’t much better than something that gives a look into the history of the league.

Art by Jacob Weinstein

Price: $75

Speaking of books, Jacob Weinstein was responsible for the gorgeous art in FreeDarko’s Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac and FreeDarko’s Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History. His work would look great on damn near any wall in any room, and they do a great job giving basketball history a sleek, modern look.

A trash can basketball hoop

Price: $6.99

Sure, you could get someone a mini basketball hoop that they can put on their bedroom door, or you can do something slightly more practical for less cash. Doxie makes an inexpensive trash can basketball hoop that you connect to your garbage bin and … well, that’s it. You’re going to toss stuff into the trash throughout the day, why not do something fun with it? And besides, at less than $7, this is the perfect stocking stuffer or Secret Santa gift for a basketball junkie.

NBA 2K20

Price: $59.99

If someone likes basketball and has a gaming console, odds are they have the latest edition of the hugely popular NBA 2K series already. But on the off chance they don’t, this is the single biggest no-brainer on the entire list. While it’s not a perfect game — microtransactions will be the death of me — it’s still a ton of fun, and getting to break out your PS4, Xbox, or whatever you might have and play some basketball is a wonderful way to get through the cold winter months.