The basketball itself could soon become part of the NBA’s officiating technology.
Commissioner Adam Silver says the league is experimenting with a “smart ball” containing a tiny sensor that weighs roughly one gram, with the possibility that the technology could be used in NBA games as soon as next year. The league is working with Wilson on the project.
“We’re experimenting with putting a small chip in the ball that weighs roughly a gram,” Silver said. “I think the consumer version of the smart ball is a few years away, but it’s a really exciting opportunity.”
The immediate goal is not to turn the basketball into a gadget for fans. It is to give the league more precise information during games.
According to Silver, the sensor can track movement, spin and changes in trajectory. That could eventually help officials determine whether a player made slight contact with the ball before it went out of bounds or whether the flight of a shot was altered by a touch that may be difficult to detect on replay.
The NBA has already tested versions of the ball in the G League, Summer League and some preseason settings, alternating between chipped and traditional basketballs. Silver said the most encouraging result so far is that players apparently could not feel the difference.
“Nobody could tell the difference,” Silver said. “So that’s a good sign.”
That is particularly important in a league where players are highly sensitive to changes in the ball’s weight, grip and bounce. A standard NBA basketball weighs roughly 620 grams, making the added sensor only a tiny fraction of the total weight.
Silver believes officiating could be the first major application.
“I think you could see as soon as next year us using it for officiating in our games,” he said.
The longer-term possibilities go well beyond refereeing. A consumer version could eventually allow players to study their own shooting mechanics by tracking variables such as launch angle, rotation and trajectory over hundreds of attempts. Silver suggested that users could eventually compare the characteristics of made and missed shots through data generated directly by the ball.
The project fits into a broader NBA push toward new technology. The league already operates its NBA Launchpad program to test emerging products designed to improve basketball, business operations and the fan experience.
