TL;DR: The NBA announced Monday that select preseason games will use a Wilson-developed smart basketball with a Bluetooth sensor for research only and wrist wearables for officials to communicate with the Replay Center, with neither system affecting live calls or extending into the 2026-27 regular season.

NBA confirms two-technology preseason test

The NBA announced Monday in New York that it is experimenting with two pieces of technology in the lead-up to the season, according to The Associated Press.

The two technologies are a smart basketball with a Bluetooth sensor and wrist wearables for officials, according to The Associated Press.

The test will occur in select exhibition games, according to The Associated Press.

The league announced the plan on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, according to the KSL.com version of The Associated Press report that was posted at 3:36 p.m. that day.

The NBA also published the announcement on NBA.com on October 5, 2026, with the headline that the league will experiment with smart basketballs and official wrist wearables in selected preseason games.

The announcement describes the games as select exhibition games, according to The Associated Press.

The announcement describes the games as selected preseason games, according to NBA.com.

What the connected ball will do

Select exhibition games will include a smart basketball that has a Bluetooth sensor in it, according to The Associated Press.

The Bluetooth sensor can collect data for future use in real-time officiating decisions, according to The Associated Press.

The connected balls were developed by Wilson, according to The Associated Press.

The league said the information from the Wilson-developed connected balls will be for research only, according to The Associated Press.

The information from the connected balls will not affect calls made during those games, according to The Associated Press.

The data collection is intended for future use in real-time officiating decisions, according to The Associated Press.

The research-only status means the sensor data will not change calls in the select exhibition games where the balls are used, according to The Associated Press.

What the wrist wearables will do

Officials in select games will also use wrist wearables to communicate with the replay center, according to The Associated Press.

Officials in select games will use wrist wearables to communicate with the Replay Center in designated situations, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

The designated situations include replay reviews, according to The Associated Press.

The designated situations include scoring changes, according to The Associated Press.

The designated situations include clock malfunctions, according to The Associated Press.

The designated situations include potential replay reviews, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

The test of wrist wearables starts tonight in select preseason games, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

Starting tonight, NBA officials in select preseason games will use wrist wearables to communicate with the Replay Center in designated situations, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

Those designated situations include potential replay reviews, scoring changes and clock malfunctions, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

Successful Summer League pilot came first

The wearables went through what the NBA called a successful pilot program during the summer league, according to The Associated Press.

The successful pilot program took place during Summer League 2026, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

The pilot that the NBA described as successful involved officials using wrist wearables to communicate with the Replay Center, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

The league cited that summer-league pilot as the basis for expanding the wrist-wearable test to select preseason games, according to The Associated Press and NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

The pilot program was limited to the summer league before the current preseason test, according to The Associated Press.

Research only, not regular-season officiating

The technology will not extend into the regular season, according to The Associated Press.

The test will not extend into the 2026-27 regular season, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

The connected-ball information will be for research only and not affect calls made during those preseason games, according to The Associated Press.

The wrist-wearable test is scheduled for select preseason games and will not extend into the 2026-27 regular season, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

The regular-season boundary applies to the preseason technology experiments announced Monday, according to The Associated Press.

Where the games fit on the calendar

The experiments are happening in the lead-up to the season, according to The Associated Press.

The lead-up games are described as select exhibition games, according to The Associated Press.

The lead-up games are described as select preseason games, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

The league announced the lead-up test on Monday in New York, according to The Associated Press.

The Oct. 5, 2026 announcement set the start for tonight in select preseason games for the wrist wearables, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

How the two systems differ

One system is a Wilson-developed connected ball with a Bluetooth sensor that collects data, according to The Associated Press.

The other system is wrist wearables worn by officials to communicate with the replay center, according to The Associated Press.

The ball system collects data for future use in real-time officiating decisions, according to The Associated Press.

The wrist-wearable system communicates with the Replay Center in designated situations, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

The ball data will be for research only in the select exhibition games, according to The Associated Press.

The wearable communications will cover potential replay reviews, scoring changes and clock malfunctions in select preseason games, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

Both systems are limited to select games in the preseason test announced Monday, according to The Associated Press.

Neither system will extend into the 2026-27 regular season, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype and The Associated Press.

What counts as a designated situation

Replay reviews are a designated situation for wrist-wearable communication with the replay center, according to The Associated Press.

Scoring changes are a designated situation for wrist-wearable communication with the replay center, according to The Associated Press.

Clock malfunctions are a designated situation for wrist-wearable communication with the replay center, according to The Associated Press.

Potential replay reviews are included among the designated situations, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

The designated situations are limited to the uses identified by the league for the select preseason games, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

Wilson role and league description

The smart basketball is described as Wilson-developed, according to The Associated Press.

The Wilson-developed connected balls contain a Bluetooth sensor, according to The Associated Press.

The NBA said the information from those Wilson-developed connected balls will be for research only, according to The Associated Press.

The research-only designation separates data collection from calls made during those games, according to The Associated Press.

The future use described by the league is real-time officiating decisions, according to The Associated Press.

Announcement details readers should keep separate

The Monday announcement in New York covered two pieces of technology, according to The Associated Press.

The Monday announcement identified select exhibition games as the setting, according to The Associated Press.

The wrist-wearable portion starts tonight in select preseason games, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

The wrist-wearable portion follows a successful pilot at NBA Summer League 2026, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

The connected-ball portion uses Wilson-developed balls with a Bluetooth sensor for research only, according to The Associated Press.

The full preseason test will not extend into the 2026-27 regular season, according to NBA Communications as reported by HoopsHype.

Sources referenced