There are a lot of differences between the WNBA and NBA: League colors, salaries, and even the lack of dunking in the women’s game that has some arguing to lower the goals to make that possible.
As new fans huddle around TVs this season to see a new wave of WNBA greats, there may be one detail standing out to those who are used to the NBA. Instead of a solid-colored basketball, the women’s league uses an orange and white basketball. Some may brush it off as one of those differences the league adapted to stand out.
Most don’t realize that women’s basketballs have a history. The WNBA just added to it with its multi-colored basketballs.
The Sporting News explains the history of the league’s basketball, including color and size differences to the NBA.
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Why is the WNBA ball orange and white?
Some might think WNBA basketballs are orange because of the league’s logo, but it’s actually the other way around. When the WNBA began playing in 1997, its colors were red, blue, and white, just like the NBA. It changed to orange in 2013 to match the signature orange-and-oatmeal colored basketballs.
Why were the balls those colors anyway?
Executives had just eight months to hammer out the details of the league – team names, logos, uniforms, and more. They wanted the custom basketballs for sale as soon as the league began playing, so it was important to get them to production as soon as possible.
Then-NBA commissioner David Stern knew one thing, though. “The last thing the world needed was another orange basketball,” he said. A few league executives got together at Madison Square Garden prior to a Knicks game to test 12 differently colored basketballs. They thought about choosing a light blue one, since it filmed well for broadcasts, but it simply didn’t feel like a basketball.
Instead, they opted for a multi-colored one because you could see the rotation of the shot, said NBA creative director Tom O’Grady. The black and orange had too much contrast, so white and orange it was.
“That oatmeal-and-orange ball was distinctive and really helped brand the league,” said Gary Stevenson, president of NBA properties. Spalding went on to sell over 100,000 WNBA-branded basketballs in the league’s first season.
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WNBA vs. NBA basketball differences
Notably, the NBA always used a solid-colored basketball. They were originally brown, but NCAA coaches began complaining about the balls blending in with the court. Spalding changed the color, and college basketball, as well as the NBA, adapted it immediately.
That’s not the only difference in WNBA and NBA basketballs.
The NBA uses size 7 balls, while the WNBA uses size 6 balls. Those measure a minimum of 28.5 inches in circumference, an inch smaller than the NBA basketballs. They also weigh less at 20 ounces.
The NCAA adopted smaller balls for women’s basketball in 1985. It wasn’t until the 2004-2005 season that FIBA, the international body of basketball, began using smaller balls for women.
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The reason is self-explanatory. Women are typically smaller than men, so smaller balls allow them to shoot and pass more quickly and effectively. To go back and forth between the two balls, as many original WNBA stars did, wasn’t as difficult or dramatic of a change as some thought.
“I think for women, because a lot of us grew up playing with a men’s ball, it’s not a big deal for the change or the switch,” said former WNBA and overseas player Wendy Palmer in 2007. “It takes us a small amount of time just to make the change — one practice most of the time when you come from overseas. You’ve got the feel back the next couple of practices.”
In the end, only one thing matters – the ball going in the basket.
