how far is the free throw line from the hoop

The free throw line in basketball is 15 feet (about 4.57 m) horizontally from the front of the backboard, which puts it roughly 13 feet 9 inches from the center of the hoop since the rim extends out from the backboard.

Basic measurement

• Regulation courts (NBA, NCAA, high school, FIBA) all place the free throw line 15 feet from the front face of the backboard.

• In metric terms, this is usually listed as 4.57 m (often rounded as 4.6 m in FIBA-style descriptions).

From shooter to hoop

• Because the rim sticks out from the backboard, the actual ball travel distance from the free throw line to the center of the hoop is a bit less than 15 feet, around 13 feet 9 inches.

• For practice or court marking, the important regulation number to follow is still the 15-foot distance from the backboard to the foul line.

TL;DR: The free throw line is 15 feet from the backboard, which works out to about 14 feet from the front of the rim and about 13 feet 9 inches to the center of the hoop.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.