The NBA Keeps it Real
Remember the NBA‘s “new ball” two years ago? Better yet, remember the scores of players who complained incessantly about the new ball? (Steve Nash) After they withdrew the new ball in favor of the old leather ball everyone was used to, they focused on coming up with a new-style composite in the Development League. It was announced today though that the League is scrapping the whole experiment and will stick with what has worked since Day One:
The NBA will use leather basketballs in its developmental league next season, ending its attempts to develop a composite ball for use at the NBA level, a league official has confirmed.
“We are committed to leather for the foreseeable future,” league spokesman Tim Frank said. “We just realized leather is what our guys wanted.”
That means the NBA will remain the only league in the world that still uses a leather ball. 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.
The NBA introduced a composite ball at the start of the 2006-07 season, but after complaints from players that the balls became slick from perspiration and left tiny cuts on their fingertips, the league returned to leather as of Jan. 1, 2007.
The league hoped to develop a composite ball that met its players’ approval, and to that end, according to sources, experimented with three different types of composite balls in the D League last season.
For what it’s worth, in the Dime office, we actually loved the old “new” ball. We used it in all of our pickup runs and in one of our weekend leagues. I always thought is was great to shoot with and was kind of disappointed when they scrapped it.
Source: ESPN.com
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September 8th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
rlf says:
“For what it’s worth, in the Dime office, we actually loved the old “new” ball. We used it in all of our pickup runs and in one of our weekend leagues. I always thought is was great to shoot with and was kind of disappointed when they scrapped it.”
and your opinion counts because you play 82+playoffs during a period of almost 8 months, right?
September 8th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
izzy says:
so much hate rif….
could you possibly be one of the kids that didn’t get picked in one of the weekend leagues?
Its just an opinion man… let it go.
September 8th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Dime Magazine says:
No, but we played with it multiple times a week for a full year and liked it. Thanks though.
September 8th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Tha Boddy says:
Ultimate disrespect
September 8th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
marcus the great says:
stop bein a fuckin douche, they’re entitled to their own opinion just as you are. fuckin dickhead…
September 8th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Blue says:
damn…what an asshole!
i’m glad they’re keeping it real…i’d hate to see steve nash cry anymore! ha…i kid!
September 8th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
justice says:
So u can’t have an opinoin on a ball unless ur in the nba rif?
September 8th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
BxBaller says:
Keep It Simple, nothing is wrong with leather basketballs. Hell we all learned playing ball with good ol leather.
September 8th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
that's whats up says:
rif is short for asshole
September 8th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
MoxWestCoastRep says:
Their opinon counts cause its their fuckin website moron…
September 8th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
RENO says:
Damn, rif…. you aight son!?! Sounds like you need some of that BOB MARLEY in your life (and i don’t mean music)Elevate your mind son and calm down. You’ll enjoy life a lot more… LMAO!!! GOT PURP!?! HA!
September 8th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Michorizo says:
rif feels that he is the only expertise on balls, therefore, only his opinion matters.
September 8th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
kermit the washington says:
what the…..dag, people! I mean, he could’ve just said “FIRST!”…at least there was a comment in the first slot, for once…lol
That old “new” ball was bad. Reminded me of the rubber ones you would get from KMart back in the day…
September 8th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Blue says:
@ michorizo…
if i didn’t know any better, i’d swear you were talking about men’s testicles
September 8th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
W says:
I only used the scrapped ball a couple of times. I didn’t dislike it, but i prefer the original.
September 8th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
nba says:
go get laid rif and stop being an asshole
September 8th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Sam I Am says:
DAMN RIF…
You got SERVED punk bama
September 8th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Sam I Am says:
LOL it was mad funny tho…lol Dime got carried first
September 8th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
karizmatic says:
At least they finally came to their senses and kept the ball the way the players want it.
September 8th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
A-Slam says:
Please give me a break, it’s a ball.
September 8th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
it aint easy being green says:
wow, lotta h8 on this page right now. so much so that im not gonna comment on rif bein a dbag
September 8th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
I dont remember anybody ever complaining about the “old” leather basketballs, why did they even wanna change it?
September 8th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Jeffrey says:
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
September 8th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
GEE... runnin a train! says:
They will try again with somethin else. Cats don’t know how to leave well enough alone. Prolly be a new rim they wanna try or a new backboard. Remember them round joints (backboards)lol that use to be in the old school gyms. Crazy.
Ain’t no tellin what it will be. I don’t think all cats really disliked the ball all hard as they were claimin. You know how some dudes will latch on to something just cause they see other cats. You had cats who barely got pt and any shots on tv complainin. I was like man come on this guy.
Glad it’s gone, and waiting to see what is next.
September 8th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
W says:
Next they’re changing the NBA socks for peoples footsies. For real…
September 8th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Ian says:
thats what up
u r wrong man
rif is raging idiot fuck
September 8th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
parinaz suns says:
now maybe instead of wasting money on a ball no1 wants they can hire refs who dont need to gamble to get paid
September 8th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Tangman says:
man rif got shitted on by EVERYBODY hahahaha
September 8th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Meica says:
You know, I’m sure the composite balls were actually better (technically) than the old leather balls, but, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”
Take the Colorado Rockies. They have a humidor for their baseballs. A humidor. Seriously, they’re baseballs, not Cubans. They do this because it keeps the balls more consistent and somehow keeps the home runs down. You know what? I hate that they do it. Part of what makes sports fun, traveling around the country and seeing all the different places and people, is significant in the park that the Rockies play in being home run prone. It’s a dimple and it’s endearing (and who doesn’t like a home run anyway?).
In some ways the leather basketball is a similar thing: sure it might not be as consistent, but it’s the same ball that Michael Jordan used, the same ball Dr. J used, the same basic ball that Wilt Chamberlin used. The same ball that Bill Russel and Bob Cousy used and there’s consistency in tradition. The ball represents a link to Basketball’s past, a link to the player’s own story playing ball on some asphalt court with no nets, and then also to every kid playing ball right now imagining himself under the bright lights, hitting the game winning shot right before the buzzer goes off. The old leather balls may not be better than the new composite balls, but it has a legacy.
In the end, it really doesn’t matter what kind of ball the NBA uses: the players would adjust and so would the rest of the world. The game wouldn’t change. But it’s the little things (and some of my favorite things) that make the leather ball important—how the dimples on a leather basketball wear down after a summer of use, or that distinct smell a basketball always seems to maintain—I believe these are the reasons for the players stubbornness. We’ve all been there. I think we’ve all had an old bike, or our first pair of kicks, or your first car that wasn’t better or even as good as its replacement, but you still always preferred because of the sentimental attachment. These things become part of us and in turn we become part of the basketball world as well. We become part of something bigger and greater than ourselves, from our favorite players now, to the greats of the past, to the playground, and to the stars of the future.
September 8th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Mark says:
I’m with Meica. It’s similar to how people hoop in old retros. Modern shoes are FAR better than many older shoes, but I still see some guys hooping in AF1 (seriously?) or retro J’s (retro quality is lacking, but eh). It’s probably not because they can’t afford new shoes, but the nostalgic factor.
The old leather ball is my choice (never done it before), but my decision, too, is based on nostalgia. I could probably do more with that new orange ball, but I’d rather try out the old leather ball.
September 8th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Drink the Haterade (Kobe Rocks) says:
When I played in HS we loved to use leather… couldn’t stand the composite ones
September 8th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Borgs says:
I’m so old I remember when the letter ‘l’ (as in ‘rlf’) was actually an ‘l’. But, I digress: rlf, you’re a twat.
The closer basketball gets to global uniformity the better. That includes the ball. The NBA should put the players and their union in its place and reinstate the old or install a new synthetic version. It’s in their best commercial interest to do the latter – sales will go bananas – and millionaires need not be nannied like a bunch of friggin pansies.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:15 am
heartbreaker85 says:
PETA would root for the composite balls instead of the leather ones. i can see ‘em skinny modelsp posing half nude with basketballs covering the juicy parts.
but really, even if it does bounce funny (remember the time VC’s buzzer beating shot just DIED at the rim and rolling in like it was deflated instead of bouncing off like regular ones) it’s still a damn basketball. still so-so ounces, bounces off the floor, rolls around and light enough to shoot (and throw at fans or if you’re sheed, punt kick to the stands).
it’s just the NBA being all hollywood and stuff. if everyone else plays with it in other leagues, then there’s not much problem about it. a ball is a ball.
bitch and moan when it has edges or some shit.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:11 am
JC says:
Wasnt the whole reason for the change for the animal lovers? I’m not overboard, but it only makes sense to go synthetic. Why not just use the Euro bballs? They play a a lot of games too, dont they? If the NBA wants to be diff, they could use the same ball as the euros just not put that odd white strip they use on theirs.
September 9th, 2008 at 2:07 am
kowtz says:
Isn’t the cmposite ball where GilZero had his series of 40 and 50 games? then his game went down when they went back to leather?
Go with the composite ball… sure enough they will be trying to use another composite again… why? cheaper and more environment friendly… Don’t tell me they used leather balls in the olympics…
NBA players should stop whinning about playing with composite balls… They get paid enough money to be playing with freaking bowling balls…
September 9th, 2008 at 3:42 am
Godzilla says:
blah blah blah..balls.
September 9th, 2008 at 5:07 am
re says:
I still don’t get how a ball can make cuts on the fingertips…
September 9th, 2008 at 8:08 am
dcom says:
ask rlf. he is the resident expert on balls