Spalding NBA Zi/O Excel Basketball

Good ball.. but it doesnt come as shown in the picture. It comes as the spalding gold series logo layout and zi/o written instead of gold series.

So far it’s a great piece of sports equipment. The texture/finish is smoother than expected but once it gets more use I’m anticipating it’ll improve. Bought a second one for a gift and I hope the recipient enjoys it as well.

First, this thing is super tacky right out of the box. It's so tacky that an infant could palm it. I'm exaggerating, obviously, but you get my drift.When it arrived there was a tiny portion of one of the panels starting to peel a bit. Maybe like half an inch across or so. I super glued it and it looks fine. I don't anticipate any issues but take that for what it's worth.Played indoors with this ball for the first time today. I do like it. It's very grippy and feels like a high quality ball. Once my hands got very sweaty the ball got a little slippery, but wiping my hands and dribbling the ball a couple times got the tackiness back. I'm guessing that as this ball breaks in, it will lose some of its dry "infant could palm it" tackiness, and obtain more grip when it's wet from sweat. But that's just conjecture. I'll update after I play with it more.I also plan on using this outdoors from time to time and will update on how that goes.But so far, it's a great ball for a great price and I give it 4 stars.-----------------------UPDATE (10/13):I have played with this ball for 2 weeks (indoors only, 4 times per week for a total of ~10 hours or so) and I can't say I'm that thrilled about it. Although the ball still looks new, the original tackiness is pretty much gone. I wipe the ball down with a wet rag after each time I play with it and then dry immediately, so it's not dirty. It just doesn't have as much grip as before. It does deal with sweat a little better than when it was brand spanking new, but it still gets slippery at times when I play.Positives: I have only had to fill it up with air once to get it from 7lbs back up to 8lbs, so it holds air just fine. No complaints about the bounce either.It still is a quality ball and it has only been 2 weeks, so I'll keep the rating at 4 stars for now. But if the grip continues to get worse instead of "breaking in" then I won't be too happy and will probably grab a higher quality indoor ball. I will update again in a bit.-----------------------UPDATE (11/4):Alright, I've used the ball for a little over a month at the same frequency as outlined above. Ball still looks pretty new (except for a scuff mark or two from an errant shot or block sending it into the brick wall of the gym), but it has completely lost its tackiness. I can't palm it at all when I play once it gets a little wet from sweat. For reference, I'm 6'3" and my hands are about ~6.75 inches from base of palm to tip of middle finger (measured here: [google search: "you v big al jefferson" as apparently you can't post links in reviews]). It's still a good ball and it's not like I'm losing the ball all over the place or anything like that. I can still shoot, dribble, rebound, etc just fine with it. But when I go up for a one-handed dunk (which often requires at least a marginal palming of the ball unless you have serious hops), it slips out of my hand the vast majority of the time. Again, not a big deal. But it's kind of annoying especially since I know that a TF-1000 (or similar) won't do that.(BTW, imagine how much easier basketball would be if you were 6'10" with 9.5" hands. That guy is HUGE.)Maybe I haven't given the ball enough time to break in. But considering that it's composite and is not supposed to take that much break-in time, I think I have a pretty good handle on this ball.In sum:1) The "super-tackiness" right out of the box is a marketing gimmick to get you to buy it. This wears off very quickly and you are left with a ball that looks pretty new but isn't that grippy due to the more durable cover.2) It's not a premium indoor ball by any stretch. But this is no surprise as it only costs ~25 bucks.3) It's still a pretty solid ball that more than gets the job done.For me, I'm upgrading to a higher quality indoor ball for my indoor-only play. Haven't decided on which, yet, but that's part of the fun. This ball has been downgraded to my outdoor ball (and indoor when I have a buddy who wants to shoot around with me). Essentially, I am going to use it as an indoor/outdoor ball, which is EXACTLY what it is labeled as. Thus, I'm keeping it at 4 stars especially considering the cost.I will probably add another update after I play with it outside for a bit. Maybe the outdoor surface will break up the durable cover a bit and give it more grip. Who knows? I'll post again when I find out.

The media could not be loaded.  The ball is great, even though it has no original box. The problem is that I got another design that is not the one shown in the post and also, the ball is not perfectly rounded. If you place it on the floor the ball won't stop until it gets to the same side every time. And if it wasn't much, the valve is not fitted into the hole in the composite leather. EDIT: The first time I contacted them, they just sent back an automated message about "warranty." The second time they did behave professionally. I'm upgrading from 2 stars to 5, because I know the product is good and of course this was a factory issue. But the ball is great.

I bought it for a gift and so far the receiver is very happy with it.It arrived earlier than expected. It has a very pleasant look.