The Best Basketball: Shopping Guide and Recommendations (03/23)

We care that you are informed about the products you want to buy and that’s why we bring you all the information you need to know about basketballs and what are the best options to buy. Join us! If you play basketball then you’ve probably played with balls that are either very light and bounce a lot or very heavy balls that don’t allow you to handle them at will, likewise, outdoors how many of us haven’t ended up with white hands full of dust? Here, we tell you which balls avoid all that.

First the most important things

• Basketballs are made of synthetic materials that allow the ball to bounce at a great height with little force implemented.
• There are official sizes and weights of basketballs depending on the category in which they are played.
• There are balls for both indoor and outdoor use.

The Best Basketball: Our Picks

Buying guide

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• Use and officialdom
• Surface
• Size and weight

We tell you from experience

Exterior Interior Resistance Withstand rough surfaces without wearing out Susceptible to damage from hard materials.

Durability; 1-2 years depending on frequency of use

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While other brands do not guarantee this life time of the ball and in the long run you end up spending more money buying balls on a regular basis.

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Use and officialdom

This is a point that will determine the price and the use of the ball you are going to buy, for example, the official FIBA ball is only bought for official FIBA tournaments where professionals play, but for a school tournament the certified replica model is perfect. Practice makes perfect… and so does the ball you use. There is no need to buy the most official or replica models to have a quality ball, in fact, the models are the same, so be careful with this.

Don’t get carried away and buy a ball that is better to have as a collector’s item.

Surface

When making your purchase take into account where you will be bouncing the ball regularly. First of all, the worst enemy of an indoor ball is concrete exposed to the sun and materials on the floor as they are easily damaged. If you play outdoors, avoid buying balls that look like indoor balls because they simply won’t hold up. Outdoor basketballs are designed to withstand irregular contact with concrete, but when placed on a floor they can get dusty and make the floor a little slippery. If you are going to use one on a stave, we recommend wiping it down with a damp cloth to avoid accidents.

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Size and weight

Size is another factor to consider. If the player is just starting to play basketball or has an average age between 8-13 years old, it is advisable to use the youth size so that he/she can get used to the handling and control of the ball. It is advisable to buy balls in the larger size for those players who compete in men’s tournaments as this is where these sizes are used. The constant use of the same ball will help the player to calibrate the strength needed for a shot or pass. In the case of the women’s size it is the same, when using women’s size balls in tournaments it is preferable that the training and practice is with the same balls so that the player gets used to the weight and it is easier for her to make shots and passes.

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So you know, no matter what position you play, shooting guard, wing or post, this ball will give you the certainty that, in driving, dribbling, passing and shooting, its trajectory will not be modified. The rest is up to you and your skill. If you play outdoors, you know that the surface has materials and debris that can easily damage the balls, such as small stones, dust, cracks and sand/dirt that can cause basketballs to lose their grip. (Featured Image Photo: Pexels/ Pixabay.com)