Illuminated basketball backboard

A lighting apparatus for releasable attachment to a basketball backboard including a backboard panel having a front surface and a rear surface, said lighting apparatus comprising:

• a housing including a translucent front panel and a rear panel releasably secured relative to said front panel;
• a reflective panel supported intermediate said front panel and said rear panel, said reflective panel including a reflective surface facing toward said front panel;
• a plurality of light sources supported by said reflective panel and substantially uniformly distributed within a plane substantially parallel to said reflective surface;
• and
• a releasable securing device connected to said housing for releasably supporting said housing from a backboard.

A lighting apparatus for releasable attachment to a basketball backboard including a backboard panel having a front surface and a rear surface, said lighting apparatus comprising:

• a rear panel having an inner surface and an outer surface, said rear panel adapted to be positioned with said inner surface facing a rear surface of a backboard panel;
• a releasable securing device connected to said rear panel for releasably supporting said rear panel from a backboard;
• a reflective surface supported intermediate said rear panel and the backboard panel;
• and
• a plurality of light sources supported proximate said reflective surface and substantially uniformly distributed within a plane substantially parallel to said reflective surface, said plurality of light sources comprising flexible tubing and a plurality of lamps received within said tubing.

An illuminated backboard comprising:

• a frame;
• a backboard panel supported by said frame, said backboard panel including a front surface and a rear surface;
• a rim extending outwardly from adjacent said backboard panel;
• a housing including a rear panel having an inner surface and an outer surface, said inner surface of said rear panel positioned with said inner surface facing said rear surface of said backboard panel;
• an illumination chamber defined intermediate said rear panel and said backboard panel;
• and
• a plurality of light sources supported within said illumination chamber proximate said reflective surface and substantially uniformly distributed within a plane substantially parallel to said backboard panel.