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Play like the pros with the official Spalding leather game ball for the 2006-2007 NBA season--the first ball redesign in more than 35 years and the second in 60 seasons.

You can buy the ball here through InsideHoops.com by clicking the picture to your right.

The game ball features Spalding's Cross Traxxion technology, a remarkable advancement embodied by two interlocking, cross-shaped panels rather than the eight oblong panels found on traditional basketballs. Each microfiber composite panel covers far more space and produces fewer channels than on older balls, resulting in better moisture management, an improved grip, and superior feel throughout the course of the game. In addition, the lack of channel convergence in the new ball decreases the surface undulation to produce a truer, more consistent bounce, a must on indoor courts with finicky surfaces. And finally, the composite material eliminates the need for a break-in period--unlike the current leather ball--and makes each ball play far more consistently. In other words, no more adjusting your game to fit the ball, as every ball plays nearly the same.

Spalding has supplied the official game ball to the NBA since 1983, and will supply NBA teams with 2,250 new balls at the start of the 2006-2007 season. As NBA Commissioner David Stern says, "The advancements that Spalding has made to the new game ball ensure that the best basketball players in the world will be playing with the best basketball in the world." Each NBA game ball also sports the official NBA logo in the middle and is colored a distinctive NBA-heritage orange tone. Official game ball specs include a 29.5-inch circumference, a 9.4-inch diameter, and a 4.7-inch radius. The official game ball is designed for indoor use only.

The NBA is introducing a new Official Game Ball for play beginning in the 2006-07 season. The new ball, manufactured by Spalding, features a new design and a new material that together offer better grip, feel, and consistency than the current leather ball. This marks the first change to the ball in over 35 years and only the second in 60 seasons. In 1970, the ball was transitioned from a four panel to an eight panel ball. The new ball features Spalding's Cross TraxxionTM technology, a union of revolutionary design and breakthrough material. The design is comprised of two interlocking, cross-shaped panels rather than the eight oblong panels found on traditional basketballs. As a result, there is more material coverage. The material is a microfiber composite with moisture management that provides superior grip and feel throughout the course of a game. Additionally, the new composite material eliminates the need for a break-in period, which is necessary for the current leather ball, and achieves consistency from ball to ball. "The advancements that Spalding has made to the new game ball ensure that the best basketball players in the world will be playing with the best basketball in the world," Commissioner David Stern.