The NBA is working on a basketball that could help officials determine who touched it last. Anyone who has watched a lengthy replay review can probably appreciate the idea.
Commissioner Adam Silver said the league is collaborating with Wilson on a “smart ball” containing a small tracking chip, with potential uses ranging from out-of-bounds calls to goaltending.
“I think you could see – as soon as next year – us using it for officiating in our games,” Silver said during an interview with CNBC’s Contessa Brewer.
The chip weighs roughly one gram, compared with approximately 620 grams for the basketball itself. Still, the NBA wanted to make sure players wouldn’t notice a difference. Silver said testing in the G League and Summer League produced encouraging results.
“We tested in the G League, we tested in Summer League, and we A/B tested the ball with a chip, without a chip, and nobody could tell the difference, so that’s a good sign,” he said.
The technology could detect changes in the ball’s spin when a player touches it, helping settle possession calls. Tracking changes in a shot’s arc could also assist with goaltending decisions.
Silver sees a potential benefit for everyday players, too. Tracking the spin and arc of hundreds of shots could help shooters identify what works and adjust accordingly, though he said that application is still a few years away.
For NBA fans, the more immediate appeal is pretty simple: Get the call right and get back to the game.
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