According to CNBC, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league could begin using a new smart ball in games as soon as next year, with a consumer version potentially a few years away. The NBA is working with Wilson on a basketball embedded with a tiny microchip Bluetooth sensor that can track movement, spin and changes in trajectory, and the technology has already been tested in the G League, Summer League and some preseason games. Silver said the chip weighs about one gram and that players have not noticed a difference in how the ball feels or bounces.

Silver said the technology could help referees determine whether a player touched the ball before it went out of bounds and whether a shot's trajectory was altered. He also said the chip could eventually help consumers analyze shooting mechanics by showing which angles and ball rotations are more likely to produce made baskets. Separately, the NBA is still discussing wearable technology with the National Basketball Players Association after a successful pilot program in select preseason and Summer League games this year, but no agreement has been reached on how data collected during games would be used.