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NBA commissioner Adam Silver says the league plans to introduce AI-powered technology for out-of-bounds calls, aiming to speed up reviews and reduce referee errors.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver (NBA Media)
Adam Silver has revealed that the NBA is preparing to introduce an AI-powered automated review system for out-of-bounds decisions, signalling a major technological shift in NBA officiating.
Speaking during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday night, Silver said the league eventually wants objective calls such as possession rulings to be handled instantly through camera-based artificial intelligence systems rather than lengthy replay reviews.
Referencing the Hawk-Eye technology widely used in tennis and MLB’s automated balls-and-strikes challenge system, Silver explained how the NBA hopes to streamline reviews and remove certain decisions from referees entirely.
“We’re going to move to a system like that where that whole category of calls will be automatic, where it’s going to be Laker ball, Knick ball, whatever it is, Thunder ball,” Silver said.
“Those calls will be done by an AI-automated system with cameras lined around the court, and it’ll take all of those so-called objective calls out of the hands of the referees. It’ll be instantaneous, it’ll be automatic. Just play on.”
Silver added that such a system would eliminate delays caused by coach’s challenges on possession calls.
“Let’s go, Spurs inbound, and you move on,” he said. “You won’t have to deal with challenges on those calls.”
The commissioner stressed that the technology would only handle objective rulings, while referees would still oversee more subjective decisions such as fouls and player contact.
“There’s often contact on every play,” Silver explained. “It doesn’t mean there’s a foul, and they’re trying to measure whether that contact is impeding the player, how hard that contact is — it’s something that can’t just be done on camera.”
Silver also defended the league’s officiating standards, describing NBA refereeing as “incredible” while acknowledging there is always room for improvement.
The discussion also touched on flopping, an issue that continues to divide fans and players across the league.
“I would only say that there’s a difference between selling a call, exaggeration and a true flop, which is where you’re actually fooling the referees,” Silver said.
“I think sometimes, even as I sit in the stands at games, players may be falling down, players may be reacting to a call. But then, to me, if they’re not fooling the referees, it’s like, ‘OK, the players are taught to sell calls these days.’”
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