I love basketball. I enjoy playing basketball, even just shooting a basketball on my own. The sound of a swish, the release of the ball from my fingertips, making corrections to my form, it all is really satisfying. As I moved from city to city, I tried to find a court, but I remember a basketball being kind of bulky to take while moving.

Why is there not really innovation in basketballs? Why are basketballs so expensive? Why hasn’t there been a new brand?

I have a really old ball, tattered, and kinda hard to shoot around with, so I went on Amazon to buy a new one recently. Wilson is now the new brand of the NBA. I remember Spaldings used to be the standard; There were no-name basketballs, made in China or without a brand that I recognized. I was unclear on quality, but I knew I was paying up for the brand. I remember having a ball when I was a kid with David Robinson’s signature on it and thinking it was probably the cheapest one available at Toys”R”Us; I remember not wanting to ask my parents for a Spalding.

My new, nice $53-dollar Spalding ball (React TF-250 Indoor-Outdoor) now sits in my home, and has a really odd smell when I walk by it. Like a deep, whisky-like incense, a burning kind of smell. It’s barely pumped, so its crumbled up.

I wonder if there’s supply chain innovation that’s waiting to happen, like how Warby Parker unseated Essilor Luxottica by manufacturing and going direct-to-consumer without the middle-man mark-ups.

Who is manufacturing basketballs? In what factories? From what materials? And why do they smell like shit? I mean, seriously. That can’t be good.

I remember Jessica O. Matthews invented Soccket, an energy-harnessing soccer ball for her company Uncharted Play. I remember recently getting served advertisements on Instagram with girls bouncing a basketball ball that can connected to an app that will help me train and adjust my dribble.

What if there was a high-quality, foldable basketball that’s cheaper and better for the environment? Foldable means easily portable. What if it could also just inflate on its own within without needing a pump? What if there’s one that’s high quality and feels like leather, that is not harsh on your hands and has a great bounce?

Next steps?

Haha maybe I’ll start a Kickstarter. Maybe I can find an inventor. Do research. Maybe we can donate – like Bombas does for socks one ball – for every ball sold, one donated to a third world country or even an elementary school in a low-income neighborhood. I mean, what balls are being used in gym classes anyway these days?

Who cares?

Sports are so important for kids, even adults. One ball, one basketball, one soccer ball, can be enjoyed by an entire community for hours. One ball can keep a kid company for hours as the kid practices to pass the time, while waiting for parents. Sports create confidence, teach teamwork, and arguably have changed many lives. While sports is now primarily monetized and a source of media/entertainment as a likely trillion dollar industry (especially when you include leagues, broadcasting rights, clothing/shoes, and betting), there’s a joy to playing, particularly in childhood.

If I actually do this…

Damn, this would be fun and potentially profitable with a social mission/impact and be aligned with my values. think this is something a lot of people and stakeholders can get behind. There’s something universal about sports. And within sports, a specific, niche problem area/space.

Basketball has been a simple joy in my life, since I was a kid. I was never that good, never played on an elite level, but it’s something I’ve deeply enjoyed. In the pandemic, it was the one activity I did outside when things were opening back up again and I was so grateful for the one rim/hoop that wasn’t clipped in my neighborhood. As an adult, I’ve somehow forgotten or subconsciously suppressed my hobbies, but recently, started to listen to myself.

I love thinking of new business ideas, talking about them with friends. But it’s a matter of, which make sense enough to pursue. Even if it fails, it’s still worth taking it to the next stage to see. Having done two businesses before, I’m much more at ease with experimentation.

Food for thought:

1. What is your connection to sports? What are you passionate about? Why?
2. Are there any childhood hobbies or new hobbies you want to explore now as an adult? How much joy would 10 minutes of playing that give you?
3. Do you have any insights or want to get involved? Anyone you can make an intro to that would want to contribute in some way? Do you know any inventors, manufacturers, people involved in the sports business?
4. If you were me, what questions would you have? What do you see are the riskiest assumptions?
5. Who do you think could benefit from cheap, high-quality basketballs?