October 13, 2026 at 3:09 AM UTC
NewsAdam Silver Says NBA Is Developing Chip-Embedded 'Smart Ball' With Wilson to Aid Officiating
The commissioner says a roughly 1-gram chip, already tested in the G League and Summer League, could help officials judge out-of-bounds touches and goaltending, possibly as soon as next year. Some fans are skeptical.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said during a Sunday preseason appearance that the league is working with Wilson on a "smart ball" with an embedded chip that could help officials make more accurate calls. Silver said the chip weighs about 1 gram, compared with roughly 620 grams for a standard basketball. He said the technology could be used for officiating "as soon as next year."
The announcement drew a skeptical reaction from some fans, who compared it to the long-running "magnet ball" conspiracy theory. The idea matters beyond the jokes because it points to a possible change in how the league judges some of the game's most disputed split-second plays.
What Silver Said the Ball Can Do
Silver described two main officiating uses. The first is out-of-bounds calls, where officials often have to decide whether a defender or offensive player got a fingertip on the ball before it left play. "We think it's an opportunity where, by any change in the spin of the ball, you can tell, for example, if a finger touched the ball and it was going out of bounds," he said.
The second is goaltending. "For [goaltending], you can tell if the arc changed in the shot," Silver said. In both cases the ball itself would supply data about what happened to it, rather than leaving officials and replay reviewers to rely only on camera angles and human judgment.
He also pointed to uses beyond officiating. Information about a shot's arc could eventually help young players understand their shooting technique, and Silver said he expects "other applications, ultimately for consumers."
Testing So Far
According to Silver, the league has already tested the technology in the NBA G League and at Summer League. He said players did not notice a difference. That claim speaks to one of the main practical concerns with any equipment change: the ball is the most basic tool in the sport, and shooters and ball handlers are sensitive to small differences in feel, weight and bounce. A chip of about 1 gram against a ball of about 620 grams is a very small share of the total weight, and Silver's comments suggest the league sees that as central to the project.
The remarks did not establish a firm rollout date. Silver's "as soon as next year" language leaves open whether the ball would be used in games at the NBA level and when. Details such as how the data would reach officials, whether it would feed into replay review, and how it would be audited were not part of the reported comments.
Why Fans Are Wary
The fan response was quick and often sarcastic. Some reactions described the project as "Magnet Ball 2.0" or said the league was "not even trying to hide it." Those phrases refer to a conspiracy theory that the ball can be influenced by technology. The theory has no support in anything Silver said. He framed the chip as a way to read what happens to the ball, not to control it.
Still, the reaction shows the trust problem the league faces. Officiating is already one of the most scrutinized parts of the NBA, and any tool added in the name of accuracy will be judged on whether it makes decisions clearer or just adds another layer of doubt. Fans who distrust officiating may be inclined to distrust the equipment used to support it.
What to Watch
The analysis here is an informed reading of the situation, not something Silver has confirmed. If the technology works as described, its strongest early use is probably the narrow set of plays Silver named, such as last-touch and goaltending decisions, where the relevant question is a physical change in the ball's motion. Those are the kinds of calls that can swing close games and are difficult to settle from video alone.
The league's credibility on the issue will likely depend on explanation as much as accuracy. Clear communication about what the chip measures, what it does not measure, and how officials use the information would help address the suspicion the announcement has already prompted. Because Silver has said use could come as soon as next year, those questions may need answers before the technology reaches games that count.
For now, the confirmed facts are limited. The NBA and Wilson are developing the ball, the chip is about 1 gram, it has been tested in the G League and Summer League, and Silver sees applications in officiating and, later, consumer products. Whether it becomes a trusted part of NBA games will depend on how it is implemented.