Athletes are familiar with the difficulty of needing to inflate their basketballs after each and every game. However, they can now breathe a sigh of relief that airless basketballs have finally arrived
Wilson, one of the leading companies for high-end basketball gear, finally put out an airless 3D-printed basketball during the NBA dunk contest. By the use of cutting-edge design and premium materials, they were able to create a basketball that didn’t need to be inflated, but still had the same responsive bounce as a standard model.
This game-changing innovation was first seen in the hands of KJ Martin during the Slam Dunk Contest this year. “This is my first time participating in the NBA All-Star festivities, and to do so with Wilson, in such a memorable way on a big stage here in Utah, is really special,” said the Houston Rockets player.
The team behind the official NBA game helped on creating this airless ball to guarantee that this is modeled to the organization’s present ball. It has the traditional eight-panel seam structure, but also a porous surface that allows free passage of outside air.
“This is a ball unlike anything we’ve ever seen designed to play like the basketballs we’ve always known.” Wilson proudly mentioned.
The NBA will continue to use the standard game ball for the time being since the Wilson Airless is still deemed to be a prototype. This is despite the fact that the ball has almost identical performance attributes, parameters, and playability.
Wilson’s Vice President of Innovation Bob Thurman said this is merely the beginning of an exciting development. He added, “We’re really excited about the first step that we have here. You know, basically, this is like ‘Let’s make one [basketball] and let people enjoy it’ and understand where we need to move forward in the future.”
This project became possible because of Wilson Labs Team’s partnership with different companies. General Lattice helped with the computational design services. They worked on perfecting the actual 3D structure of the ball. DyeMansion was assigned for the color and finishing, and EOS produced the first-of-its-kind prototype through an advanced 3D-printing process.
Other companies such as Bridgestone have also been able to eliminate the need to inflate tires. During the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, Bridgestone was able to develop airless tires that can be bent to absorb impacts while still allowing a wheel to roll. Wilson’s recent accomplishment proves that we can expect more fascinating improvements and advancements in the basketball world in the coming years.
Photos From DYEMANSION and KJ MARTIN (via Instagram)
