The Technology Behind the Modern Roundball
In 1891, looking for a way to keep students active inside during the Massachusetts winters, educator and clergyman James Naismith took a couple of peach baskets and nailed them at opposite ends of a gymnasium balcony, inventing a sport that quickly became known as “basketball.” The very first game was played with a soccer ball (and dribbling the ball was initially prohibited), but within a couple years, as the sport exploded across the country, officials started manufacturing balls specifically for the game. Those first basketballs—slightly larger than their modern counterparts–were comprised of stitched leather panels with an inflatable bladder inside.
The Modern Basketball
The basketball currently used in virtually all competitive games was standardized in the 1930s. It involves a four-step process:
- The construction of the inner bladder—The internal structure of a basketball is what gives it both its distinctive bounce and determines weight and movement through the air. It’s comprised of black butyl rubber, which has been melted into flat panels that resemble an eye. Those panels are then attached to form the basic shape of a ball and a hole is pierced in one of the panels so that the ball can be inflated. The bladder is initially inflated and left that way for about a day, so that any defects may be identified and corrected.
- The shaping of the ball—The bladder, as initially inflated, is typically irregular in shape. To remedy that situation, a machine is used to wrap the bladder with nylon or polyester threads to create a perfect sphere. Polyester threads are commonly used in street basketballs because of their durability, whereas balls used for indoor competition typically have nylon threads.
- Creating the cover—The highest quality basketballs still feature a leather cover, while less expensive models may use regular or synthetic rubber. The material used for the cover is cut into panels similar to those used to make the bladder.
When first manufactured, virtually all basketballs have a very rough texture across the cover, requiring that they be “broken in.” The balls used in NBA games are commonly broken in by have players use them in practice for some period of time before offering them up for use in a game.
The Final Testing of a Basketball
Before a basketball will be sold, it will typically be tested. Manufacturers typically inflate the basketball to approximately 8 psi and drop it from a height of 72 inches. It must bounce back up at least 52 inches to meet specifications.
