After unveiling the Wilson Airless Prototype basketball last year, the sports equipment giant decided to do what any company would when they realized customers would pay for their prototype: make it an actual product and price it at $2,500. The Wilson Airless Gen1 is the first 3D-printed airless basketball available to the public. Or at least the rich public.
Rather than being inflated, Airless Gen1 relies on a 3D-printed polymer lattice structure. The basketball nearly fits the performance specifications of a regulation basketball, including its weight, size, and rebound (bounce). The form of the ball features 8 panel-like lobes and a familiar seam structure, with hexagonal holes across the surface allowing air to pass through freely. Each Airless Gen1 comes with a case, stand, and 3-letter customizable tag.
Will the NBA use airless basketballs in the future? Maybe. And maybe players will be allowed to play with flubber-soled shoes, too. That would be cool. And if they scored 5 points from dunking from half-court. Hire me, NBA, I have tons of bad ideas like this that could really push this sport to the next level.
