Overview
- Commissioner Adam Silver said the league and Wilson have developed a basketball with a tiny one-gram Bluetooth sensor that tracks movement, spin and shot arc and that it could be used in games as soon as next season.
- The smart ball has been tested in the NBA G League, Summer League and select preseason games and players reported no noticeable change in feel or bounce.
- League officials see an immediate use for the ball in officiating to detect touches, confirm out-of-bounds plays and identify altered shot trajectories for goaltending reviews.
- Plans to expand in-game technology face a separate hurdle because the NBPA has not agreed on how wearable and in-game biometric data would be collected or used during games.
- The NBA frames a consumer retail version as a longer-term product and the league points to similar sensor use in other sports as precedent, but some fans have voiced distrust and raised questions about transparency.