Like thunder from the clear sky, the news of NBA fans that the Spalding ball will no longer be used hit this summer.
Spalding has been producing balls for the NBA since 1983, and before that Wilson did it in 1943. After almost 40 years, the strongest basketball league in the world returned to the balls produced by Wilson.
However, this great transition has not been so easy. Numerous NBA players are complaining about the ball, and the loudest so far have been Paul George and Joel Embid.
– It’s not the same touch, it’s not as soft as Spalding was. You’ll see this season. There will be many terrible failures. You have already seen a lot of airballs – said Paul George.
The first star of the Philadelphia Seventies, Joel Embiid, joined the criticism.
– The ball is different, I still don’t feel completely comfortable on that issue. It’s a process, but I work hard every day. I hit those shots in training. Last season, I was probably the best shooter from the half distance in the league, it will come back at some point – said Embiid.
At the start of this season, the Cameroonian shoots 42.1% from the game, or 32.1% for three, which are the worst percentages in his career.
All basketball players know how difficult it is to change balls often, but that is not unusual on the European continent.
What do you think if the change of the ball has anything to do with the worse percentage of shots?
