NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says the league could begin using a chip-equipped “smart ball” for officiating as soon as 2027.

Silver told CNBC that the NBA is working with Wilson on a basketball containing a Bluetooth sensor that weighs about 1 gram. The sensor can track movement, spin and changes in trajectory.

The key update is timing. BitcoinVersus.Tech reported the NBA’s preseason smart-ball tests on October 5, when the league said the data was being collected only for research. Silver now says the technology could move into actual officiating next year.

Adam Silver says league could introduce ‘smart ball’ technology as soon as next year: "We’re experimenting with putting a small chip in the ball that weighs roughly a gram. I think the consumers version of the smart ball is a few years away, but it’s a really exciting opportunity."
byu/New-Process-6463 innba

NBA fans are already debating the smart-ball proposal on Reddit.

Silver said the league has tested chipped and standard balls in the G League, Summer League and preseason games, and players could not tell which ball contained the sensor. The Associated Press previously reported that Wilson’s connected ball was being evaluated for possible future real-time officiating use.

One use case is out-of-bounds reviews: a sudden change in spin could help determine whether a player touched the ball. Silver also described consumer versions that could analyze shooting angle and rotation. That idea resembles other sensor-heavy sports systems BitcoinVersus.Tech has covered, including TDK’s smart javelin and IBM’s US Open tracking tools.

What’s Inside? cuts open a Wilson X Connected Basketball to show the sensor hardware built into the ball.