Playing basketball outside is great fun. Whether playing pickup, or simply shooting around, you need the best equipment to maximize your enjoyment.
When ultimate basketball performance is your goal, then you must look at picking up the best indoor basketball. Indoor basketballs are known to have the most responsive covers and bladders.
Unlike their outdoor counterparts, indoor only basketballs don’t have to worry about being durable enough to handle rough surfaces. Instead, indoor basketballs are uniquely made to optimize the game within competitive environments. If you plan to spend a lot of time playing on hardwood, then you simply need an indoor basketball to get the most out of the experience.
Having played with most indoor basketballs on the market, I’m in a unique position to offer expert advice on the subject. But the truth is, the basketballs that I like may feel terrible to you.
Instead of telling you what I subjectively like, I decided to do objective testing that evaluated each basketball. The ratings in this article are based on the tested performance of each indoor basketball.
First place ended up being a tie between The Rock and the Spalding Precisionindoor basketballs. These basketballs do have some unique differences that will suit specific player types. In 3rd place is the surprising Baden Perfection Elite. Equally surprising is that most players’ holy grail basketball; the Wilson Evolution, came in second to last in front of only the Spalding TF1000.
Another great feature of this article is our basketball selector quiz. Answer the quiz questions and get personalized basketball recommendations that meet your specific needs
This is especially true when it comes to the basketball you use. Outdoor basketballs need to be able to withstand different playing surfaces while still offering quality performance.
To discover which outdoor basketball is best I spent many hours thoroughly testing some of the best selling balls on Amazon and Wal-Mart.
I tested seven indoor/outdoor basketballs and five outdoor only rubber basketballs.
Clear winners were found in each category. For indoor/outdoor, the testing showed the Spalding Zi/O to be the best. In the outdoor only category the Spalding Phantom took the crown.
Best Indoor Basketballs
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