NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has announced that the league plans to introduce artificial intelligence to automate certain officiating decisions, including out-of-bounds calls, in a move aimed at speeding up games and improving accuracy.
Silver said the NBA is looking to adopt a system similar to tennis’ Hawk-Eye technology, where camera-based tracking instantly determines whether the ball is in or out.
He explained that these objective decisions would be fully automated by an AI-powered system using multiple courtside cameras, removing the need for referees to make those specific calls.
According to Silver, the change would make possession rulings immediate, reduce disputes, and eliminate the need for coach challenges on such plays.
He added that referees will still play a crucial role in judging fouls and physical contact, which require interpretation rather than pure visual confirmation.
Silver said the league intends to roll out the technology “fairly quickly,” although no exact timeline was given.
The NBA has already increased its use of replay systems and centralized reviews in recent years, but those processes have sometimes slowed down the flow of games.
The new AI system is expected to address that issue by handling clear-cut decisions while allowing officials to focus on more subjective calls involving player contact.
