Basketball Trophy / March Madness

***CHECK UPDATES BELOW***

Summary

My print: https://youtube.com/shorts/qCkzSldsGnc?feature=share

I wanted to challenge myself to design a March Madness trophy, so here's what I came up with. I designed it at 207mm height, and because of the middle post, scaling down might introduce structural issues.

I tried my very best to minimize the need for supports at 0.15mm layer height, but if you choose thicker layers, you may need some extra support under the ball.

I've included a blank base version if you want to add your own text. Try out Prusa Slicer's text embossing tool!

Tips

• If you're using silk PLA, beware of the middle post getting knocked off during printing. Silk likes to shrink up on overhangs and might get in the way of the print nozzle. Consider enabling supports under the ball and slow the print down a touch to avoid this. 

• Add modifiers for a heavier base and lighter top! I showed what I did in the pics.
  (NOTE: I didn't originally include these modifiers in the original gcode files. I've updated them to include this now.)

• Print at 0.15 (8-24hrs depending on settings).

• Add supports under the ball when printing thicker than 0.15mm. 

  • Use organic supports if you can.

• Post a make!

***UPDATES***

20th January, 2026
Updated the March Madness trophy text for 2026.

1st April, 2024
As requested I've included a version with the text “March Madness” without the year.