Wilson has signed a multiyear deal to become the official ball of the NBA, starting with the 2021-22 season. Next season will be the last season that the league will use Spalding, which has made official NBA game balls since 1983.
Wilson had previously made NBA balls from the league’s original season in 1946 through the 1982-83 season. The new deal also sees Wilson become the official ball of the WNBA, the NBA G League, NBA 2K League, and Basketball Africa League. Wilson will debut its ball in the 2022 WNBA season, the 2021-22 NBA G League season, and the 2021 virtual NBA 2K League season. It will also be used once the Basketball Africa League restarts its inaugural season, which started in March but was suspended indefinitely due to COVID-19.
Wilson’s new balls will feature the same leather as the current ball used across the NBA, WNBA, and G League. The NBA and NBPA will form an advisory board to provide suggestions to Wilson for developing the new game ball.
Other league’s that already use game balls manufactured by Wilson include the NFL, the NCAA, Australia's National Basketball League, and the European Basketball Champions League. Tracking sensors have been stitched into Wilson balls to evaluate quarterbacks at the Canadian Football League scouting combine.
At last year’s NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, the game ball developed by Spalding was embedded with a motion-tracking chip.
