In today’s world, every company is by default a tech company. Technology influences our behaviors, the products we use, and how we view the world. This applies to even the most tenured companies that make established products. Wilson Sporting Goods, a leading sports equipment manufacturer in the world, is no exception to this rule.

Last year, Wilson made waves with the commercial introduction of a new prototype basketball: the Airless Gen1. This was a basketball that was 3D-printed and featured a polymer lattice construction aimed at innovating something that has mostly remained the same for decades.

A year later, Wilson announced that it is ready for wider distribution of Airless Gen1. According to David Picioski, Head of Marketing for Team Sports at Wilson, airless basketballs are about pushing the boundaries of what is expected and capturing the imagination of basketball fans worldwide with a new way to think about the iconic ball.

Bringing About Change

It cannot be overstated how ambitious it is to redesign something as tenured as the basketball. The last truly major, non-iterative breakthrough in basketball design came in 1942 when the molded basketball was invented. Before this point in basketball history, balls were hand stitched which led to inconsistencies in size, grip, and bouncing mechanics.

Since then, we have seen smaller quality-of-life changes, such as doubling the panel size and adding dimples for a better grip. But by and large, the overall concept and structure have remained the same. But staying stagnant is not a viable methodology for Wilson, and through their experimental arm Wilson Labs, they have looked at ways to constantly improve the product.

The standard leather and rubber basketball today still has a few limitations that could necessitate innovation. They run the risk of being punctured, must be inflated, and can have varying results depending on inflated weight. The Airless Gen1 aims to solve all these problems with a design that doesn’t require inflation, cannot be punctured, and is the same size and weight every time.

It is one thing to have the idea of 3D printing a basketball, it is another to execute the idea. The internet is filled with DIY enthusiasts trying to recreate the Airless Gen1 but ended up with an end product that is either too bouncy or not bouncy at all. Wilson spent over five years of research and development across different departments of the company to come up with a formula for a basketball that players would be comfortable using.

As time has passed, the company has taken feedback from players and others to refine the idea, but there are still roadblocks. Because of the hollow interior of an airless basketball, aerodynamics is the biggest issue to contend with. As a result, ball travel for longer shots is still a work in progress. The company has refined the balls’ weight to match NBA regulations, which helps to alleviate the foreign feeling of holding something radically different.  

Another area of focus outside of weight has been in dribble and bounce mechanics. The goal of the company through hours upon hours of testing is to replicate the rebounding velocity and angles of a traditional ball while also ensuring that dribbling feels as natural as possible as well. In that sense, their approach has been very similar to how Impossible Meat is formulated to replicate the feeling and profile of ground beef. People may want an alternative, but they also want a sensation that is familiar as well.

This is the third iteration of Airless Gen1, and the progress has been gradual. The first version was a proof of concept more than anything, where things like texture and weight were being resolved. The second version introduced a rare collector’s item that could be dribbled and used in rare instances. This third version is yet another advancement, adding more natural dribbling and passing activities.

It is this current version that is ready for wider adoption. To showcase this, Wilson is headed back to the NBA All-Star Game, where the ball first gained notoriety in 2023 with NBA player Kenyon Martin Jr using it in the Dunk Contest. At All-Star Weekend in San Francisco, Wilson will give unprecedented hands-on time with Airless Gen1 to the public.

The All-Star Experience

The NBA All-Star Game is in San Francisco this year. It feels incredibly appropriate that a tech forward basketball concept should be present in the shadow of Silicon Valley, where so much of the modern tech landscape originated from. At the Chase Center, fans will be able to experience the entire process of Airless Gen1, to get a deeper understanding of the innovation at play.

The intent of Wilson’s presence at All-Star Weekend this year is to capture the imagination of basketball fans of all ages by giving them a chance to experience the process of forming and creating Airless Gen1. This will be followed by trying the ball out on an illuminated LED court where it could be dribbled and tested.

The entire experience is intended to be immersive and gives fans the opportunity to get hands-on time with the product in a way that has not happened until now. It is all a part of exposing the public to the innovations that are possible in ball design. By being able to experience it firsthand with a setup that is very tech-forward, Wilson is hoping to create added interest in Airless Gen1 and the idea of its vision for the way we view the design of sporting goods in the future.

In that sense, this event at All-Star Weekend is reminiscent of a concept car exhibit at an auto show. The intent is to show what is possible and what the future may look like. Oftentimes at auto shows, those concepts are reflections of what tomorrow might be and offer limited access to the public. Airless basketballs are Wilson’s concept car. It sees these explorative designs as a part of an overall lineup strategy, and not a replacement for the status quo.

Expanding the Portfolio

My biggest curiosity about Airless Gen1 was how it fits into the overall roadmap of Wilson’s basketball strategy and where it will land as a mass consumer product. The vision, according to Picioski, is not too unlike the way smartphone manufacturers have positioned their products in the past.

For many smartphone makers there are generally three tiers of devices that they manufacture. These are entry level, midrange, and flagship. The entry level is designed for basics like communication and social media. Midrange offers more capability while keeping a manageable price. Flagship is the best that the company offers, with its latest innovations. To use Samsung as an example of this model, their Galaxy A is entry level, Galaxy S is midrange, and its Ultra and Z series phones are its flagships.

For Wilson, the eventual thought is that their Airless series of basketballs could be their flagship, sitting beside its entry and midrange series of basketballs. Currently, the company offers a range of balls from $20 all the way up to $250 MSRP. There are special collaborations, team-branded balls, and balls for different surfaces. Airless Gen1 far outpaces the rest of the lineup in price, currently priced at $2,500 in three color ways: natural white, black, and burgundy (which is the latest color option from last year).

The price is high, but that is the cost of innovation and being on the cutting edge of technology. Wilson’s goal is to have Airless balls on shelves next to the NBA’s official ball in years to come. But for now, it is positioned as a collector’s item. The perfect addition to any basketball aficionado's shelf. The future will see more advancements in touch and feel, with a slow rollout of iteration planned according to the company. 

Wilson acknowledges that airless technology will never replace a leather ball, particularly with the NBA’s official on-court ball. But this venture shows the continued advancement of technology in the sports space. We have seen it in injury management, the way we watch games, and the way we view the game. It only makes sense that this would also come to the tools of the games themselves.

Being a part of the future of basketball is an exciting proposition, and one that fans can finally take advantage of. The Wilson Airless Gen1 will launch exclusively on the company’s website on February 13^th for $2,500.