When Did the NBA Switch to Wilson?

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has used Wilson balls since the 1983-1984 season. The switch from Spalding to Wilson was a result of the players’ strike in the 1981-1982 season.

NBA’s Early History

The National Basketball Association has been using Wilson balls since their inception in 1946. The league switched to Wilson after the ball that was being used at the time, Spalding, was unable to keep up with the demand of the rapidly growing league. Wilson has been the official ball supplier of the NBA ever since.

The NBA’s founding in 1946

The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league started with 11 teams, and through a series of team expansions, mergers, and losses, it now consists of 30 teams. The Boston Celtics have the most championships with 17.

The early years of the BAA were characterized by fast-paced play, competitive scores, and intense fan interest. In its inaugural year, the average game score was 79–73; by comparison, the average game score in 2008 was 97–93. Many players from that era were enthusiastic about playing in the new league and thrilled about the prospects of increased salaries.

In the 1949 season, the BAA introduced a shot clock after seeing successful experimentation in college basketball. This prevented teams from stalling the ball to deliberately run down the clock; previously, some teams had employed this strategy successfully to preserve slim leads late in games. The introduction of the shot clock resulted in a scoring increase: teams averaged 84 points per game in 1949, compared to 73 points per game in 1948.

In 1951, the BAA merged with its rival National Basketball League (NBL) to form the NBA. The new league retained many of the rules and traditions of the BAA, including its nickname “the bomb squad”. After failed attempts to shorten games by making possession changes after every free throw or resetting to half court after every out-of-bounds play (similar to modern-day hockey), both rules were implemented permanently for the 1954 season.

The NBAswitch to Wilson balls during their 1974 ABA-NBA merger

The NBA’s early years

The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league began with 11 teams, and through a series of expansions, mergers and relocations, grew to 30 teams by 1974. A further expansion in 1976 brought the NBA to its current size of 30 teams.

The early years of the NBA were marked by competing leagues and extensive player movement between them. The first major challenge to the BAA’s supremacy came in 1948, when three of its strongest teams – the Minneapolis Lakers, the New York Knickerbockers and the Rochester Royals – defected to join an upstart 11-team rival league, the National Basketball League (NBL). However, despite the addition of these three strong squads, the NBL was unable to survive; it ceased operations in 1949 after losing several other key teams to the BAA.

The NBA continued to grow throughout the 1950s. In 1950, the Indianapolis Olympians joined the NBA, followed by the Minneapolis Lakers in 1952. In 1953, three more teams –the Fort Wayne Pistons,the Milwaukee Hawks andthe Syracuse Nationals – jumped from the NBL to join the NBA. The addition of these four squads increased the size of the league to 17 teams.

During this same time period, there was also significant player movement between leagues. Many talented players jumped back-and-forth between leagues as their services were courted by both the NBA and NBL. In some cases, players even appeared in games for both leagues during a single season!

One of those standout players was George Mikan, who played for six different franchises during his 10-year career in professional basketball. Mikan was a dominating center who is widely credited with popularizing basketball as a mainstream sport. He won five championships during his time in both leagues; three withthe Minneapolis Lakersin 1947–48, 1949–50 and 1951–52 (all inthe BAA/NBA),and two more withthe Rochester Royalsin 1946–47 and 1948–49 (both inthe NBL).

The ABA-NBA Merger

In order to understand why the NBA switched to Wilson, we need to first understand the ABA-NBA merger. The merger happened in 1976 and it was a total game-changer for the NBA. The ABA was a basketball league that was founded in 1967 and it was known for its flashy players and its innovative style of play.

The ABA’s founding in 1967

The ABA’s founding in 1967 posed a serious challenge to the NBA. The upstart league was signing away some of the NBA’s best players, including future Hall of Famers Julius Erving and George Gervin. In an effort to keep up with the ABA, the NBA began signing its own young stars, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson. At the same time, the NBA began experimenting with new rules, such as the introduction of the three-point line.

The two leagues continued to compete against each other for players and fans until they finally merged in 1976. As part of the merger, four ABA teams (the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets, and San Antonio Spurs) joined the NBA. The NBA also adopted some of the ABA’s rule changes, including the three-point line.

The ABA-NBA merger in 1976

The ABA-NBA merger in 1976 was a monumental moment in basketball history. Not only did it bring two of the biggest basketball leagues in the world together, but it also marked a major change for the NBA. Prior to the merger, the NBA had been using Spalding basketballs. However, after the merger, they switched to Wilson balls.

The NBA’s Switch to Wilson

In 2006, the NBA switched to using Wilson basketballs after using Spalding basketballs for decades. The switch was made in an effort to increase scoring and improve player margins of victory. There were some concerns that the new balls would be too slippery and cause more turnovers, but those concerns proved to be unfounded. Let’s take a look at how the NBA’s switch to Wilson basketballs has affected the game.

The NBA’s switch to Wilson in 1983

In 1983, the NBA switched from Spalding to Wilson as its official basketball provider. The reason for the change was because Spalding’s balls became increasingly less consistent in bounce and feel during the early 1980s, leading to complaints from players. Wilson’s balls were said to be more consistent, and thus the switch was made.

Why the NBA switched to Wilson

In 2006, the NBA switched to using Wilson balls after using Spalding balls for decades. The decision was made after a study found that players shoot better with Wilson balls than with Spalding balls. The switch has been widely praised by players, who say that Wilson balls are more consistent and easier to shoot with than Spalding balls.