Synthetic Basketball
date: label: date made
content: 2006
name: label: maker
content: Spalding & Evenflo Companies
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: For the 2006-2007, the NBA introduced a new ball design into the league. This was the first change to the ball since 1970, when they switched from a four-panel to the eight-panel construction. This ball is made from a microfiber composite designed to give a better grip and feel than the leather ball. This particular ball was used by the Washington Wizards but only for half the season. The response from the Wizard players, as well as most other players around the league, was a resounding, “Bring back the old leather ball!” Although the new ball was tested by both Spalding and the NBA and was found to be more consistent than the leather ball, the players didn’t like the “feel” of the new ball. Many complained of a different bounce and the synthetic material cutting their hands. So in the middle of the 2006-2007 season, the NBA recalled the new ball and replaced it with the old leather standard..
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: name of sport
content: Basketball
label: web subject
content: Sports
label: level of sport
content: Professional
label: web subject
content: Invention
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
label: See more items in
content: Highlights from the Culture and the Arts Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2006.0235.01
label: accession number
content: 2006.0235
label: catalog number
content: 2006.0235.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: basketball
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: synthetic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 8 1/2 in; x 21.59 cm