Stern keeps new ball despite complaints

David Stern expected complaints, and he got plenty of them.

His response: The new ball is staying.

The NBA commissioner said Monday the league is sticking with its new ball and is convinced it’s a better product despite concerns from a number of players.

“We’ve been testing it and retesting it,” Stern said. “And I think that some of the dramatics around it were a little overstated in terms of the downside and not enough recognition of the upside.”

The upside to Stern is that all the new balls, made of a microfiber composite, feel exactly alike. No two leather balls were the same. Stern said it was customary for referees to go through a rack of balls to select the best one before each game.

Players have said the new ball is too sticky when dry and too slippery when wet.

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Sacramento Kings guard Mike Bibby is expected to miss the first two weeks of the regular season after detaching a tendon in his right thumb in Sunday’s exhibition against New Orleans.