The NBA has dropped its longtime relationship with sporting goods company Spalding, which has produced the NBA’s custom made basketballs for more than 30 years. The switch to Wilson was made in a surprising announcement on Wednesday May 13th. The new game ball is to be used starting with the 2021-22 season.
Year ago, Spalding had replaced Wilson as the NBA’s official basketball provider. The financial terms of the NBA’s partnership with Wilson have not been released yet. “This partnership with Wilson returns us to our roots as we plan for the future,” Salvatore LaRocca, the NBA’s president of global partnerships said in a statement. “We were partners for 37 seasons dating back to when Wilson manufactured the first official NBA basketballs in 1946, and we look forward to growing the game of basketball together.”
