The National Basketball Association has decided to go digital with artificial intelligence (AI) for efficient game management.
North America’s top professional basketball league — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league will use AI to automate decisions such as out-of-bounds calls to speed up games and reduce contested possession.
Silver compared the system to Hawkeye technology used in tennis. This technology uses electronic line calls to quickly determine if the ball is in or out.
“We’re going to move to a system where the entire call in that category is done automatically,” Silver said Wednesday on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show.
“Whether it’s a Laker ball, a Knick ball, whatever it is, that call will be made by an AI automated system with cameras lined up around the court.”
This technology allows such decisions to be made instantly, allowing referees to focus on calling contact and fouls.
“This takes all so-called objective decisions out of the referee’s hands,” he said. “You don’t have to deal with the hardships of a call like that.”
The NBA is increasingly emphasizing replay reviews and centralizing decision-making to improve officiating accuracy, but reviews can slow down the pace of games.
Silver said referees remain essential to interpreting physical contact when judgment is needed to determine whether a player has been interfered with.
“Often there’s contact on every play, but that doesn’t mean there’s a foul on every play,” Silver said. “You can’t do that with just a camera.”
Notably, Silver did not provide an exact timeline for the system’s implementation, but said it would be rolled out “fairly soon.”
