Leather basketballs return to NBA January 1, 2007

On January, 1, 2007, NBA games will, once again, feature leather basketballs.

Here's some background (in case you're curious):

On Monday, December 11, 2006, the NBA announced that leather basketballs will return on Jan. 1, 2007. Spalding sent a shipment of 10 new leather balls to each team which arrived on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2006.

This allowed two and a half weeks for teams to break in and get reacquainted with leather basketballs. Every ball sent to the teams passed NBA specifications in testing conducted by Spalding.

A second shipment of balls, including 10 in new condition and four in used condition which were all secured from the teams, were redistributed on Dec. 20, 2006. Each team currently has a minimum of 24 leather basketballs.

By the end of January 2007, each team will receive an additional shipment of leather basketballs from Spalding. That shipment will bring each team's total to approximately 50.

The process for selecting the game ball will continue to include having the crew chief consult with one member from each team to make the selection.

New elements of the process will include the Crew Chief's measuring the inflation of the ball to ensure it meets NBA specifications and checking the ball for wear and tear.

Let the fun begin once again...