# Basketball Calorie Calculator

> A 155 lb person burns about 527 calories in an hour of pickup basketball, 562 in an hour of full-court game play, and 352 shooting baskets. Thirty minutes of pickup burns about 264. Drills with little rest burn the most, about 654 an hour.

**Last updated:** September 2026
**URL:** https://bodyhealthcalculator.com/basketball-calorie-calculator
**Category:** Calories Burned by Exercise

## How it works

Calories = MET × body weight (kg) × hours, using 2024 Adult Compendium codes 15070 (shooting baskets, 5.0 MET), 15050 (non-game, 6.0), 15055 (general, 7.5), 15040 (game, 8.0), and 15072 (drills, 9.3). Net calories remove 1 kcal per kg per hour of resting burn.

## How many calories does basketball burn?

A 155 lb person burns about 527 calories in an hour of pickup basketball, 562 in an hour of full-court game play, and 352 shooting baskets. Thirty minutes of pickup burns about 264.

Those figures use the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, which rates shooting baskets at 5.0 MET, non-game play at 6.0, general play at 7.5, a game at 8.0, and drills at 9.3.

Sources: [1]

## Basketball calories by type of play and body weight

Each value is a 60-minute total. Halve it for 30 minutes, and multiply by 0.75 for 45 minutes.

*Calories burned in 60 minutes of basketball (2024 Compendium METs)*

| Type of play | MET | 125 lb | 155 lb | 185 lb |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Shooting baskets | 5.0 | 284 | 352 | 420 |
| Casual play, no game | 6.0 | 340 | 422 | 503 |
| Pickup or half-court game | 7.5 | 425 | 527 | 629 |
| Full-court game | 8.0 | 454 | 562 | 671 |
| Drills or practice | 9.3 | 527 | 654 | 780 |

Sources: [1]

## How hard pickup games are

A 2021 study had 12 recreationally active college men play 10-minute games of 1 on 1, 2 on 2, and 3 on 3. In every format they spent more time above 81% of maximum heart rate than below it. The 1-on-1 games produced the highest blood lactate and perceived effort, and the authors noted that perceived effort stayed low for the intensity. Street basketball is as hard. Untrained men playing 3 on 3 averaged about 84% of maximum heart rate on both full and half courts. A 2020 review of recreational team sports found typical sessions reach 72% to 85% of maximum heart rate.

Sources: [2] [3] [6]

## How the calculator works

Calories = MET × body weight in kg × hours. A MET is the energy cost of an activity as a multiple of resting burn, which is about 1 kcal per kg per hour.

Net calories subtract that resting burn to show what the game added.

Worked example: a 160 lb person (72.6 kg) plays 45 minutes of pickup. Calories = 7.5 × 72.6 × 0.75 = about 408 kcal, and net calories are about 354 kcal.

Sources: [1]

## Does basketball count toward the weekly target?

Adults should get 150 minutes a week of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, and each vigorous minute counts as two moderate ones. Every type of basketball play except shooting reaches 6 MET or more, which is vigorous, so two 40-minute pickup sessions a week meet the target.

That matches the programs used in research. The 2020 review found typical team sport programs ran for 12 weeks at 2 sessions of 40 to 60 minutes a week.

Sources: [9] [6]

## What regular basketball does for health

In the street basketball study, 3 months of play about twice a week on a full court raised aerobic fitness by 2.4 ml per kg per minute, added 0.8 kg of lean mass, increased bone density, lowered mean arterial pressure by 5.6 mm Hg, and cut body fat by 1.6 percentage points. Half-court play produced smaller gains.

A 2025 trial assigned 90 sedentary young adults with overweight or obesity to basketball, soccer, self-directed exercise, or no exercise, with the game groups playing 3 times a week for 8 weeks. Basketball and soccer improved BMI, body fat, waist size, resting heart rate, and diastolic pressure more than either control group. Age is no barrier. In a 3-month trial of 40 adults aged 40 to 55, twice-weekly basketball drills lowered blood pressure by 7% to 12% and improved flexibility, balance, and leg and trunk strength. Body weight and body fat did not change, so pair the game with diet changes if weight loss is the goal.

Sources: [3] [4] [5]

## Ankle injuries and how to prevent them

Courtside observers of recreational games recorded 3.85 ankle injuries per 1,000 player appearances, and landing caused 45% of them. Players with a previous ankle injury were almost 5 times as likely to hurt an ankle again, and those who did not stretch before playing were 2.6 times as likely.

In youth basketball, a 10-minute warm-up of aerobic, agility, strength, and balance exercises cut ankle and knee injuries by 36%, whether or not study staff supervised it.

Sources: [7] [8]

## FAQ

### How many calories does an hour of basketball burn?

For a 155 lb (70 kg) person: about 352 kcal shooting baskets, 422 kcal in casual play, 527 kcal in a pickup game, 562 kcal in a full-court game, and 654 kcal in drills. At 185 lb a full-court game burns about 671 kcal.

### How many calories does 30 minutes of basketball burn?

About 264 kcal for a 155 lb person in a pickup game and about 281 kcal in a full-court game. Shooting around for 30 minutes burns about 176 kcal.

### Is basketball good cardio?

Yes. In small-sided games of 1 on 1, 2 on 2, and 3 on 3, recreational players spent more time above 81% of maximum heart rate than below it. The authors noted that perceived effort stayed low for that intensity.

### Can basketball help you lose weight?

In a trial of 90 sedentary young adults with overweight or obesity, basketball 3 times a week for 8 weeks lowered BMI, body fat, and waist size more than in a control group. In a 3-month trial of adults aged 40 to 55, twice-weekly basketball drills lowered blood pressure but did not change weight.

### Is full court better than half court?

For fitness, yes. Untrained men who played 3 on 3 street basketball about twice a week for 3 months improved on both court sizes, but the full-court group had the broadest gains. Their aerobic fitness and bone density rose, and their body fat and blood pressure fell.

### How do I avoid ankle injuries?

Warm up with balance and agility work. In recreational players, those with a previous ankle injury were almost 5 times as likely to hurt an ankle again, and those who skipped stretching before a game were 2.6 times as likely. In youth players, a 10-minute neuromuscular warm-up cut ankle and knee injuries by 36%.

## References

1. Herrmann SD, et al. J Sport Health Sci 2024. [2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: A third update of the energy costs of human activities](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2023.10.010)
2. Stojanović E, et al. J Strength Cond Res 2021. [Recreational Basketball Small-Sided Games Elicit High-Intensity Exercise With Low Perceptual Demand](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31403572/)
3. Randers MB, et al. J Sport Health Sci 2018. [Effects of 3 months of full-court and half-court street basketball training on health profile in untrained men](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30356444/)
4. Xu Q, et al. Biol Sport 2025. [Recreational soccer and basketball improve anthropometric, body composition and health-related outcomes in overweight and obese young adults: A randomized multi-arm study](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40182732/)
5. Karatrantou K, et al. Life (Basel) 2024. [A 3-Month Modified Basketball Exercise Program as a Health-Enhancing Sport Activity for Middle-Aged Individuals](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38929692/)
6. Castagna C, et al. Prog Cardiovasc Dis 2020. [Cardiovascular fitness and health effects of various types of team sports for adult and elderly inactive individuals: a brief narrative review](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33328098/)
7. McKay GD, et al. Br J Sports Med 2001. [Ankle injuries in basketball: injury rate and risk factors](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11273971/)
8. Emery CA, et al. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2022. [The "SHRed Injuries Basketball" Neuromuscular Training Warm-up Program Reduces Ankle and Knee Injury Rates by 36% in Youth Basketball](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34972488/)
9. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. [Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition](https://odphp.health.gov/our-work/nutrition-physical-activity/physical-activity-guidelines/current-guidelines)

## Related

- [tennis calorie calculator](https://bodyhealthcalculator.com/tennis-calorie-calculator.md)
- [pickleball calorie calculator](https://bodyhealthcalculator.com/pickleball-calorie-calculator.md)
- [jump rope calorie calculator](https://bodyhealthcalculator.com/jump-rope-calorie-calculator.md)
- [running calorie calculator](https://bodyhealthcalculator.com/running-calorie-calculator.md)
- [calories burned calculator](https://bodyhealthcalculator.com/calories-burned-calculator.md)