“In the previous few years, Spalding had a great success with Infusion, the basketball with a micropump inside and a high profile ad campaign featuring Kobe Bryant. They also had a winner with Neverflat, which reduced deflation annoyances by changing up the product materials, shipping methods and even the nature of the air inside the balls.” said USC Marshall innovation professor Jeremy Dann. “But their next innovation play came out really flat.”
In 2006, the NBA tried to implement a new synthetic ball, which the players unanimously hated. The league had decided to do away with the traditional leather ball in favor of a microfiber composite one, the rationale being that the composite material was widely viewed by the sporting goods manufacturing industry as the future. They were cheaper to produce than leather balls, and they were supposed to feel broken in from the get-go. And by the early 2000s, several college and high school leagues had already adopted the synthetic ball. Common complaints with the ball were that it became slippery when wet, that it didn’t bounce as well as the leather, and that its surface had more friction, leading to players report they were getting cut-up hands.
“The ball just tears [my fingers] apart,” the defending MVP Steve Nash said.
“I have to constantly put lotion all over my hands because my fingers are cracking and it’s causing splits on my fingertips,” said Ray Allen, who had set the NBA’s single-season record for three-pointers a year earlier.