Updated for 2020!
We at Dime Sports have done extensive research this year in our development of the best indoor basketball for 2020 and beyond. In developing our own basketball, the Dime ONE, we tested all the best products on the market. Dime has taken all of the best qualities of the most expensive basketballs on the market, added cutting edge patented technologies, and built them into our Dime ONE that we will sell direct-to-consumer at a fraction of the price of comparable balls.
Here are the results of our analysis with short easy to read descriptions below the chart:
Here are short descriptions of the best indoor basketballs for 2019 from worst to first!
The Spalding Official NBA Ball
The overwhelming consensus from our testing group was that Spalding's Official NBA Ball was "officially" trash.
Cons: Crazy expensive, takes forever to break in, is too hard, and is super slippery
Pros: Real leather absorbs sweat
The Spalding TF-1000
Older members of our testing group reminisced about how great the TF-1000 used to be. They say it's just not the same anymore. Not to mention that there are several TF-1000 versions out there (legacy, classic, platinum) as Spalding tried and failed to recreate its past product. The fall from glory is not surprising for Spalding seeing as they are now owned by an underwear company. Yes you read that correct. Spalding is owned by Fruit of the Loom!
Cons: Too expensive for an inferior product, confusing selection
Pros: None, does the fact it used to be good count?
The Wilson EVO NXT
The testing group here just didn't notice much of a difference between this product and the normal Evolution. Certainly not enough difference to pay 30% more. Like the Spalding brand Wilson is not as focused on its sports balls as in the past seeing as they are owned by a skiing company from Finland.
Cons: Too expensive for a ball that is not much different than the Evolution, grip can be an issue as channels are not very deep
Pros: Pebbled channels and cover materials are similar to the Evolution which is well liked
The Spalding Precision
The newly introduced Spalding Precision received mixed reviews. Some liked the deep channel design for its added grip while others thought the huge logo areas were very slippery.
Cons: No pebbled channel, large logo areas are slippery
Pros: The deep channel design, cushioned feel, more reasonable price
The Wilson Evolution
This is a tried and true classic and a popular ball that has been around a while. Testers liked the pebbled channels but wished they were a little deeper. They also thought the ball felt a bit small and light and added that it got very slick when it was wet with sweat. Some people noted that their broken in Evolutions had gotten "too soft" over time and needed to be pumped too often.
Cons: Slippery when sweaty, shallow channels make gripping harder, feels small/light, gets soft over time and doesn't hold air well, more expensive now
Pros: Pebbled channels and cover materials are well liked, popular ball with little updates for a long time
The Baden Elite
The Baden Elite was a surprise riser in our tests. People thought the cover felt buttery smooth but wished that that channels were deeper and pebbled. Baden is also the only company other than Dime that is U.S. based and solely focused on sports balls. Some testers did not like the channel design on the Baden and preferred the more traditional designs of the other balls.
Cons: Channels too shallow and not pebbled reduces grip, channel shape designs are odd
Pros: Soft cover feel
The Wilson Official NCAA Ball
The testing group was a big fan of the Wilson Official NCAA ball. They liked the cover material and the pebbled channels, but wished the channels were a bit deeper and that the ball wasn't so expensive. Testers thought this ball handled sweat better as well. Our test model also had noticeably more wear after testing than some of the other models.
Cons: Too expensive, channels are not very deep, wears out quickly
Pros: Pebbled channels and cover materials are nice, better sweat management
The Dime ONE Indoor Basketball
With all the above feedback helping to figure out the best indoor basketball for 2020, Dime designed a basketball that incorporated all of the testing groups favorite features and added patented technology to develop the best indoor basketball on the market. The Dime ONE has a patented cushion feel cover and deep pebbled channel design. More testers could palm the Dime than any other ball.
Also, Dime sells direct to consumer. By eliminating the middleman we can reduce costs and pass the savings on to you! Dime also serves a mission to increase youth sports participation for all income brackets. For every dollar in profit we make a DIME is donated to you sports charities (for more on this visit the About Us page).
Cons: Testers were mad that it's sold out!
Pros: Best price, best grip, can palm the Dime, Deep pebbled channels, cushioned feel and charitable giving