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The NBA has leather balls

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Drip, Sep 8, 2008.

  1. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    The NBA says it is committed to using leather balls for the foreseeable future. Most college conferences, and foreign and international leagues, use balls made of synthetic material because they're less expensive to produce and provide more consistency from ball to ball.
    http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3575912
     
  2. GB-Hack

    GB-Hack Active Member

    I think this is a follow-up from a couple of seasons ago, when the NBA tried to switch to a synthetic blend.

    The players got pissed, because 1. they weren't involved in the decision and 2. they prefer the feel of the leather ball. I think they switched back mid-season to pure leather.
     
  3. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    As I recall, the players said the seams on the synthetic balls had raised edges that actually could cut your fingers. Sounds like some great pre-rollout product testing there. ::) ::)
     
  4. KYSportsWriter

    KYSportsWriter Well-Known Member

    That was last season. I think.
     
  5. GB-Hack

    GB-Hack Active Member

    Just looked it up. 2006-07 season.
     
  6. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    Notice no one complained about the Olympic basketball which was not made of leather?
     
  7. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    There were a few comments early in the Games that the FIBA balls felt "slippery," and some talk about it the last couple of years during the summertime qualifying tournaments, but after the public relations morass of 2004, when players and coaches started spewing excuses the moment they stepped off the plane, my bet is the players were all told not to utter anything that could be taken as an alibi.
     
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