NBA to Use AI Technology for Automatic Out-of-Bounds Calls

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced that the league plans to introduce an automated officiating system for certain decisions — including out-of-bounds calls — using AI and camera technology placed around the court to determine possession.

Silver compared the approach to Hawk-Eye, the tracking technology widely used for line calls in professional tennis.

📸 Disputed Call Preceded Silver's Comments

Silver's remarks followed a controversial officiating moment in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs.

Late in the third quarter, Spurs centre Victor Wembanyama was ruled to have touched the ball last on an out-of-bounds play — but replay footage clearly showed the ball had bounced off the foot of Thunder forward Chet Holmgren. The call stood even after officials conferred.

The play drew widespread attention after Oklahoma City claimed a 3–2 series lead. Silver confirmed the NBA ultimately intends to remove this category of objective calls from on-court officials entirely.

🤖 NBA's Partnership with Hawk-Eye: Timeline

The NBA previously announced a collaboration with Sony's Hawk-Eye Innovations. In 2023, the league confirmed a multi-year partnership to deploy 3D optical tracking technology across arenas.

The partnership built on several years of testing at Summer League and NBA venues. The system is engineered to track both the ball and player movement in three dimensions at sub-second latency.

The league identified out-of-bounds and goaltending as priority use cases for future automated officiating — both of which Silver directly referenced during his ESPN appearance.

🏅 Automated Officiating Across Major Sports

Automated officiating is already active in several top-tier sports leagues:

• 🎾 Tennis — Electronic line-calling systems in major tournaments
• ⚽ FIFA / Soccer — Semi-automated offside technology at the World Cup
• ⚾ MLB — Automated balls-and-strikes challenge system launching in 2026

"We're going to move to a system like that where that whole category of calls will be automatic." — Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner

Silver added that the system would instantly determine possession — whether the ball belongs to the Lakers, Knicks, Thunder, Spurs, or any other team — and would significantly reduce the need for challenges on those calls.

📝 Current Rules: Coach's Challenge

Under existing NBA rules, a Coach's Challenge is the only mechanism available to trigger replay review of an out-of-bounds violation at any point in a game. Each team begins with one challenge, earning a second only if the first is successful.

For the 2024–25 season, the NBA also expanded the Coach's Challenge rule to allow officials to review whether a foul should have been called during certain out-of-bounds reviews.

🏢 NBA Replay Center: By the Numbers

The NBA already operates a centralised Replay Center in Secaucus, New Jersey, connected to all 30 arenas. Key facility stats include:

• 📺 94 HD monitors
• 💻 23 workstations
• ✅ Supports reviews across 15 instant replay triggers

🙋 Referees Still Handle Judgment Calls

Silver was clear that human referees will remain responsible for calls requiring judgment — particularly those involving contact and fouls.

"There's often contact on every play. It doesn't mean there's a foul." — Adam Silver

As for timing, Silver did not provide a specific rollout date but stated the league expects to move in that direction "fairly quickly."

"It'll be instantaneous, it'll be automatic. Just play on." — Adam Silver

Photo by JC Gellidon