By Kevin Johnson

On February 18, 2023, fans worldwide got a first glance at the NBA’s newest innovation. During the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest, NBA forward Kenyon “KJ” Martin, Jr., used Wilson’s new Airless Basketball in his second dunk of the first round. Almost exactly one year after Martin unveiled the prototype during the dunk contest, Wilson officially released the ball worldwide for consumers on February 16. Wilson only released 75 first-generation balls, at a price point of $2500. 

Graphic of Airless Gen 1. Image credit: Wilson’s website.

Unlike a normal basketball, Wilson Airless is 3D-printed using polymer. It is made in one piece, without an interior bladder. The print is done in a vat of powder to ensure that the ball is not damaged during the 3-D printing process. It also makes it easier for the print to be done in one take, because the powder holds the structural integrity of the print. Wilson engineers tried many different patterns before coming up with the hexagonal lattice design of the ball. They felt this enabled them to best replicate the average basketball. The Wilson website says, “The basketball nearly fits the performance specifications of a regulation basketball, including its weight, size, and rebound (bounce).” The ball has an eight-panel design to go along with the grooves on the average basketball. 

Wilson officially partnered with the NBA in 2021, so it’s possible that the Airless ball could become the official ball of the NBA in the next few years. The NBA and Wilson showed some intent of that by unveiling the prototype at the 2023 All-Star Game. Vice President of Innovation at Wilson Bob Thurman said, “[the prototype] is only a dot on the development path.” 

Image courtesy of Wilson Sporting Goods.

It will be a challenge for the average consumer to get their hands on the new ball. The $2500 price point is over 30 times more expensive than Wilson’s standard ball, the Wilson Evolution. Though the Wilson team hasn’t commented about the ball’s pricing, it can be assumed the high price is because of its exclusivity. There are a few reviews around the internet. The reviews are mainly from sports and technology content creators. Youtuber Unbox Therapy said, “It feels way different,” describing the texture as “sanded” or “smoothed out.” Tech content creator Marques Brownly said the bounce was “like 90% of a regular ball.”     

Though the ball change and innovation can be seen as exciting, NBA players might be opposed to the new ball. In 2006, Spalding and the NBA (who were partnered at the time) issued a new synthetic leather ball for the upcoming season. After having a summer to try and adjust to the new ball, the ball was quickly met with disapproval from around the league. Hall of Fame center and commentator Shaquille O’Neal weighed in on the controversy over the ball and said, “It feels like one of those cheap balls you buy at the toy store…. I look for shooting percentages to be way down and turnovers to be way up, because when the ball gets wet, you can’t really control it. Whoever did that needs to be fired. It was terrible, a terrible decision. Awful.” O’Neal and the rest of the NBA were relentlessly opposed to the ball. Some players even claimed that the ball would make their hands blister and bleed. The ball only made it to that December before they went back the original ball. 

Professional athletes can be particular about their equipment, so the addition of the new Wilson Airless could cause some unrest in the NBA. In most high-level professional sports, synthetic materials are looked down upon. The airless ball isn’t even synthetic; it’s straight plastic. The ball texture is also different. The hexagonal holes are something never seen before in any type of sports ball. If the league wants to incorporate the new ball, they are going to have to give the players time to adjust. A common criticism of the Spalding synthetic ball was that the players didn’t have much time to get adjusted to the ball. The process of incorporating the ball will take a while, but the team at Wilson is heading in the right direction.