PR90158

CHICAGO, June 18, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

-- NBA's Trae Young and Jamal Murray join Wilson's Advisory Staff; Wilson NBA

official game ball to be introduced on-court at Microsoft Surface NBA Draft

Combine 2021

Wilson Sporting Goods Co., in partnership with the National Basketball

Association (NBA), today unveiled the league's new official game ball in

advance of the NBA's 75th anniversary season.  The reveal tips off a multiyear

partnership, welcoming the NBA's first official basketball manufacturer –

Wilson – back to the game.

Photo -

https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1535399/NBA_WILSON_OFFICIAL_GAME_BALL.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1535397/Trae_Young.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1535400/Jamal_Murray.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1535398/NBA_and_Wilson_Logo.jpg

The Wilson NBA official game ball is comprised of the same materials,

eight-panel configuration and performance specifications as the league's

current game balls and sources the same leather currently used in the NBA.  

Over the past year, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association

(NBPA) worked jointly with Wilson to develop and approve the new game ball

through team evaluation sessions.  The game ball features the iconic NBA and

Wilson logos in full grain pebbling, with the Wilson logo also including an

anthracite inline.

"Wilson is excited to unlock our history and heritage with the NBA to grow the

game of basketball on the global stage," said Kevin Murphy, General Manager,

Wilson Team Sports.  "On the heels of launching our WNBA and BAL partnerships,

we will continue building for the future of the sport.  Wilson will focus first

on supporting the league and its players with its high-performance game balls,

then extending our basketball family to reach fans, coaches and players at all

levels, around the world."

"Our partnership with Wilson fittingly comes to life as we approach our 75th

anniversary season," said Salvatore LaRocca, NBA President, Global

Partnerships.  "As the NBA's official game ball for the league's first 37

seasons, Wilson makes its return building on our shared history and looking

ahead toward the continued growth of the league."

Wilson's NBA official game ball will make its on-court debut at the Microsoft

Surface NBA Draft Combine 2021, scheduled to take place Monday, June 21 through

Sunday, June 27.  The game ball will be available for purchase exclusively on

wilson.com (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3199770-1&h=240003669&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wilson.com%2Fen-us%2Fforms%2Fbasketball%2Fnba-signup&a=wilson.com

) in the U.S. beginning July 29, in alignment with the NBA Draft 2021 presented

by State Farm.  Additional NBA-licensed Wilson products will be made available

through key retail partners globally including NBAStore.com (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3199770-1&h=994148199&u=https%3A%2F%2Fstore.nba.com%2F&a=NBAStore.com

), Amazon and others throughout the summer.

To coincide with the game ball reveal, Wilson is also introducing its first NBA

Advisory Staff members – 2020 NBA All-Star Trae Young and 2016 first-round NBA

Draft pick Jamal Murray.  As official Wilson Advisory Staff members, Young and

Murray will playtest, provide feedback and collaborate on Wilson basketball

products.

"Joining Wilson's Advisory Staff was such a natural fit for me," said Young.

"I've been using their basketballs since I was a kid – from hooping in my

driveway to playing throughout college. It's exciting to see Wilson return to

the NBA, and for me to have a voice in how they show up both on and off the

court."

Young and Murray join a growing roster of Wilson Basketball Advisory Staff

members, including three-time WNBA All-Star Liz Cambage, FIBA 3x3 stars Dušan

Bulut and Migna Toure, renowned skills coach Chris Brickley and tastemaker

Beija Velez, with more players expected to be announced as the season

approaches.

Wilson's partnership milestones with the NBA will continue to roll out

throughout 2021 with announcements and activations across the Women's National

Basketball Association (WNBA) (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3199770-1&h=851038404&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wilson.com%2Fen-us%2Fbasketball%2Fballs%2Fwnba-official-game-basketball-170181&a=Women%27s+National+Basketball+Association+(WNBA)

), NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League (BAL) (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3199770-1&h=841407436&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wilson.com%2Fen-us%2Fbasketball%2Fballs%2Fevo-nxt-basketball-africa-league&a=Basketball+Africa+League

), and into the NBA's 75th anniversary season.

About Wilson:

Chicago, USA-based Wilson Sporting Goods Co. (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3199770-1&h=299116523&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wilson.com%2F&a=Wilson+Sporting+Goods+Co.

), a subsidiary of Amer Sports Corporation, is the world's leading manufacturer

of high-performance sports equipment, sportswear and accessories. The Company

brings more than a century of innovation to sport at every level of play. It

uses player insights to develop products that push equipment innovation into

new territories and empower athletes at every level to perform at their best.

Visit www.wilson.com for more information.

In Basketball, Wilson is the supplier of Official Game Basketballs for the

National Basketball Association(R) (NBA), the Women's National Basketball

Association(R) (WNBA), National Collegiate Athletic Association(R) (NCAA) for

March Madness and the Final Four, Basketball Champions League (BCL), Basketball

Africa League (BAL) and FIBA 3x3. In Football, Wilson is the first and only

Supplier of Official Game Footballs for the National Football League(R) (NFL),

the supplier of Official Game Footballs for the Canadian Football League (CFL),

NCAA Football, Pop Warner, American Youth Football and USA Football. In Tennis,

Wilson is the Official Ball and Official Stringing Partner of the US Open and

Roland Garros. In Volleyball, Wilson is the Supplier of Official Game

Volleyballs for the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) and NCAA

Beach Volleyball. In Soccer, Wilson is the supplier of match balls for NCAA

Soccer.

About the NBA:

The NBA is a global sports and media business built around four professional

sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women's National

Basketball Association, the NBA G League and the NBA 2K League.  The NBA and

the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) also jointly operate the

Basketball Africa League (BAL).  The NBA has established a major international

presence with games and programming available in 215 countries and territories

in more than 50 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 100,000 stores

in 100 countries on six continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2020-21

season featured 107 international players from 41 countries.  NBA Digital's

assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass.  The NBA has

created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with 1.9

billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player

platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by

working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that

support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.

SOURCE: Wilson Sporting Goods Co.