The leather basketballs are available in different weights, colors, and sizes, differing from brand to brand. All-leather basketball models feature sturdy construction, but they usually cost more than the other types of basketball options available in the market.
Basketballs are made by beginning with a rubber pouch and then covering it in fibrous material and leather. These are then inflated in order to give the ball its volume. The outside is covered with rubber bumps and black grooves, called ribs, that enable competent handling of the ball.
For years, leather was the material of choice for basketball covers. However, synthetic composite materials were introduced in the late 1990s. They quickly gained acceptance by most leagues, though the NBA’s game balls continue to use actual leather (except for a short-lived experiment in 2006 using a ball made from microfiber, which was poorly received).
Pure leather is still used on a few vintage in-house balls, but most basketballs are now synthetic. Because of this, rubber or synthetic balls which attempt to mimic leather were introduced, which nowadays make up most manufactured basketballs. In modern times, most basketballs are either inflatable or made from leather, rubber, or a synthetic composite.
How Basketballs Are Usually Designed
Nearly all basketballs have an internal, rubber, inflated bladder, usually wrapped with layers of fibers, then covered by a surface made of leather (traditional), rubber, or synthetic composite.
Higher-quality basketballs feature a high-quality leather covering, whereas other balls use synthetic or conventional rubber. The covering on the basketball itself is either leather, rubber, composite, or artificial. However, the leather covering is dictated only by rules for collegiate games unless a team has agreed to the contrary. Custom basketballs used in professional leagues are made from genuine leather, while balls used in college leagues are made from composite materials. High-quality custom rubber or molded basketballs are covered with quality leather.
Colleges use composite leather from Wilson Solutions on their custom basketballs for the NCAA Tournament. When it comes to basketball surfaces, you generally choose cheaper rubber balls or the more expensive composite leather. The rest of your choices for basketball materials boil down to composites and rubber.
Basketballs in Use by the NBA
The NBA mainly uses basketballs made from leather, as it is more robust and cost-effective to manufacture on a mass scale. Basketballs and footballs for the NBA and the NFL are made of leather exclusively sourced by Horween Leather Company. Believe it or not, all the leather used for NBA Official Basketball has been coming from one location for the past 20 years. While the companies that manufacture the NBA basketballs have changed, the processes that the leather goes through are mostly the same.
Quality leather is rolled out and split into six individual panels, which eventually combine to form a ball. Then 18 long strips are individually run through a pressing machine, shaving off one diameter hole into the rubber, holding air tubes used to inflate NBA basketballs. Six rubber panels are stitched in half, then stitched together using heavyweight yarn, creating a soccer ball from inside out, then steam-rolled and stretched.
With a machine, a thread made from polyester or nylon is wrapped around the inner bladder, creating the basketball’s spherical shape. The interior of the Basketball is composed of a spherical rubber sac (often called the bladder) wrapped with nylon threads and covered by six rubber panels, each glued together by hand. To ensure that basketballs have a consistent shape and size, they must be formed using machines that wrap a polyester or nylon thread around the inner bladder.
Instead, basketballs are made in varying sizes to suit various age groups and skill levels. Basketballs come in different sizes, depending on what age groups will be using them.
The Early History of Basketball Designs
The earliest basketballs were made of spherical shapes out of pure leather and continued to be used until the early 1960s, when synthetic materials began to be introduced. Over the years, the first basketballs underwent different modifications, then came the basketball that we know today.
As basketball became more popular and organized, there was more demand for a stricter ball. It was not until 1984 that Dr. James Naismith called Spalding (then called AG, Spalding & Bros.) and asked Spalding (then called AG) to manufacture a specific ball explicitly made for the sport.
Players used the football to play early games of basketball while using a basket made from peach to make a basket. When basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith way back in 1891, they famously used peach baskets and footballs to get the job done. The peach baskets were attached to the walls, and when anyone scored, basketball early games had to be stopped until the ball was brought back to them by the cleaners, using ladders, of course. The first basketballs made for the purpose were made from panels of leather sewn together with a rubber bladder.
The Wilson Official NBA Ball is an evolution from the original leather ball, featuring composite leather covering to enhance suppleness, durability, performance, and grip. The Wilson official NBA ball is made from genuine cow hides and is designed to pass the NBA’s standards of highest quality basketball.
Produced with premium, full-grain leather and meeting the strictest quality and performance standards, the NBA game ball is engraved into NBA as much as it is into Michael Jordan or LeBron James. In 1983, the NBA adopted the A.G. Spalding & Bros. Full Grain Leather ball as their official ball.
The basketball of Stephen Curry’s future NBA was not the rubberized version bouncing around the playground. It was not the one standard for the high school, college, and international levels, either, made of synthetic material. The butyl rubber interior bladder is not made of any animal products. However, the indoor balls cover is made from leather since cowhide and horsehide are both available for manufacturing.