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The first basketball game was played with a soccer ball
The first basketball was used in early December of 1891. Though it wasn’t a basketball it was a leather soccer ball. James Naismith was the Canadian inventor of the sport, basketball. -
Basketball ball invented
A.G Spalding & Bros were called upon by Dr. Naismith to create a ball for basketball. The new ball would be made for leather and held together with laces. It weighed 1.25 pounds and had a circumference of 81.28 cm (10.16cm bigger than the soccer ball) -
Laces went on the inside of the ball
The laces that were previously on the outside of the basketball switched to being on the inside in 1929. They were redesigned because the basketball is more bouncy this way and even on the surface. When the laces were there the surface was not even and they would make the ball bounce randomly. -
Wilson Basketball Invented
In 1941 Wilson started to make their own basketballs. Wilson used pebbled cowhide for their leather. This mase the Wilson basketball different because of the different texture of the leather. -
Laces on the ball disappear
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Molten Basketballs invented
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American Basketball Association ball is invented
The ABA (American Basketball Association) used a different coloured basketball compared to the rest. Their basketball consisted of red, blue and white. -
8 panels on the ball
The previous ball had 4 panels of leather were as the newly developed 1970's ball had 4 more panels. The 8 panel ball is still used today. -
Spalding invents the full grain leather ball
Spalding created the full grain leather ball in 1983. This ball was high quality and was recommended for indoor use only. -
Basketballs were now made of high tech composite leathers
Before 1990 all basketballs were made from genuine leather, but in 1990 they started being made from high tech composite leather. -
"Hole in one" ball made
In December of 1994 a new design for the basketball was made. It was called the "Hole in One". The new ball had multiple dimples in the the ball to help players have a better grip when holding the ball. -
Sweat absorbing basketball
A problem with the basketball used to be how it would become slippery when sweat was on it, but is November 1998 that problem went away. The Wilson Solution basketball has microscopic holes that absorb the sweat and prevents the ball from getting slippery. -
Built in pump balls invented by Spalding
Micro Pump was a basketball invented in 2001. It has a small built in pump so whenever or wherever your ball is flat you can pump it up. This basketball was created by Spalding. -
Spalding NEVERFLAT basketball is invented
The Spalding NEVERFLAT basketball was the first ball ever to use Pressure Retention Technologie. This makes the ball guaranteed to stay inflated for 10X longer than any other ball. -
First ever "smart" basketball invented
The 94fifty ball was the first ever "smart" ball. It's equipped with sensors so you can track your playing. It connects to your phone and tells you things you need to do to perfect your game. The ball costs $159.
