The NBA is tinkering with the game itself before the season even starts. The world’s top league announced on Monday that it is trying out two new pieces of technology during the preseason that could eventually reshape how officiating decisions get made.
The league said that select exhibition games will feature a smart basketball built with a Bluetooth sensor inside it, developed by Wilson. The ball collects real-time data that the NBA says could eventually inform officiating decisions. For now, though, the NBA has been clear that none of the information gathered will affect any actual calls made during these games. It’s purely research at this stage, a quiet trial run rather than a rule change in disguise.
NBA to Let Officials Wear Wearables for Communication
The second piece of tech involves the officials themselves. In select games, referees will wear wrist wearables that let them communicate directly with the replay center in specific situations, covering replay reviews, scoring changes, and clock malfunctions. It’s a more direct line between the court and the review room, cutting out whatever friction normally exists in those moments.
The wearables aren’t entirely new, either. They already went through what the NBA called a successful pilot program during Summer League, giving the league a head start on refining the technology before bringing it into a higher-stakes preseason setting. For now, though, neither piece of technology is heading into the regular season. Both remain confined to this stretch of exhibition games, with the league presumably watching closely to see what the data and the wearables actually reveal before deciding what, if anything, comes next.
