In honor of the NBA Finals, Spalding is bringing back the original. Basketball, I mean.
The first company to create a true basketball is bringing back its first model in honor of the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors squaring off in the NBA Finals on Thursday night, with a special model based on the first ball made for hoops 125 years ago.
Spalding has teased the ball in recent weeks but is finally giving fans a chance to snag a replica of the ball that went into the first peach basket when James Naismith invited the sport.
The ball is built with design notes that were in the first basketball that Albert Goodwill (A.G.) Spalding made when asked by Naismith for a basketball in 1894. The 29.5″ regulation basketball has the original A.G. Spalding and Bros logo on it as well as a No. M to indicate it’s a Match Play ball. The cover is Horween leather and has panels stitched together, with a football-like stitch across the top that mimics the original ball used by Naismith’s first players.
The ball will go on sale to coincide with first tip of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night, with Spalding MVP members getting first dibs on the $250 ball. Thirty minutes after first tip, non-MVP members will get a shot at owning one of the original shapes of the game.
