When you are looking to get a higher end basketball hoop, one of the major choices you will have to make is whether your want an acrylic basketball goal or you want a glass basketball goal.   While there is no one right answer, here are some important factors to consider before you make your decision.

Performance

When you are looking a basketball hoop, performance means how rigid the system is and how responsive the rebound is.  That is, how well the basketball bounces back at you when you bounce it against the backboard.  
By that standard, glass backboards are hands down the best one to choose.  While acrylic backboards certainly get the job done, they don’t really compare quite as well to the firmness and rigidity of a glass backboard.  This top notch performance is the reason why glass is still the official material of NBA and College level basketball backboards.

Price

In almost all cases, the acrylic models are cheaper than the glass model backboards.  This Is because the process that goes into producing the high quality, break resistant, heat tempered glass is just a lot more complicated and expensive than producing a similar acrylic backboard.  So if you are simply looking to get the best high end basketball goal you possibly can at the cheapest price, then acrylic is probably the best way to go.

Appearance

If you plan on having your basketball hoop for many years to come, you may be concerned on how good your basketball goal looks when you have it installed in your driveway.  If so, you should be aware that acrylic has a tendency to yellow slightly when it has been left out in the sun.  You might not notice it for a few years, but after a while, the normally clear appearance of the backboard can look a little dingy.   If you want to avoid that, then a smart move would be to go with the glass backboard.  It doesn’t change up,

Durability

One of the main reasons people refrain from getting a glass backboard is that they are afraid that it will shatter, or that it might be prone to breaking.  But the fact of the matter is that unless you have a three hundred pound NBA center regularly dunking on your backboard, there isn’t much risk of it breaking like you might see in a Shaquille O’ Neil highlight reel. On the other hand, there is not much, if any at all, advantage in terms of durability in getting an acrylic model.  
To put any concerns you have about the durability at ease, look at the warranty.  Most warranties for glass backboards cover the life of the hoop under normal basketball use.  Some cover dunking, and some don’t, so make sure to check the specific conditions of the warranty of the product you are looking to purchase.