Basketballs

What basketball size should you buy?

Size 7 if you play men's basketball, size 6 if you play women's basketball, and size 5 in minibasket. This is what the FIBA rules establish, and how the Spanish Basketball Federation applies them in its competitions: in the 2026-27 season, the ball designated for minibasket is size 5, and from the youth category onwards, boys play with size 7 and girls with size 6. The cut is not "adult": it is the category.

The sizes are defined by circumference and weight, with tolerance, in Table 1 of the equipment appendix of the Official FIBA Rules:

Size 3 and size 4 do not exist in the FIBA rules: the table only has 7, 6, 5 and a light 5. The only official definition of size 3 in Spain is that of the Higher Sports Council in its facilities standard: from 55 to 58 centimeters in circumference and from 310 to 330 grams, for children under 9 years old. And the age table, such age, such size, is not signed by any organization. The two FIBA training documents closest to it do not even match each other. If you do not compete, choose by hand and by the hoop you are going to use.

On almost all our balls, the size is in the selector or in the name. The mini balls for the room baskets do not have a size: they are described by their diameter.

Leather, composite or rubber: what changes from one ball to another

The cover. It is the only variable that Wilson, Molten and Spalding declare unambiguously, and the one that orders the price from top to bottom: rubber at the base, composite in the middle and natural leather at the top.

Three families, and the rules only order them. The FIBA equipment appendix says that in Level 1, selections, elite clubs, the cover must be leather or synthetic leather or composite, and that only in Level 2 can it be rubber: rubber is prohibited in the elite and allowed below.

• Natural leather. For indoor courts and only for that: Spalding writes it just like that. Wilson warns that at first it slips and softens while playing; Molten says that its leather ball can be used new in training and matches. Do not generalize the break-in: it depends on the brand.
• Composite or synthetic leather. It maintains the feel of leather and withstands dirt and moisture, according to Wilson, who recommends it for indoors and for indoor/outdoor. This is where most of the game and training balls are.
• Rubber or rubber. The street ball. Wilson designates it for outdoors, bad weather and rough surfaces and metal nets. Molten puts it at the base of its range.

FIBA does not classify balls as indoor and outdoor: that label is from the manufacturer, and Spalding marks it on the ball itself. What no brand publishes is how much a room ball gets damaged on asphalt: there is no figure, neither in hours nor in games. Treat it as a rule of use, not as an announced failure.

The rest that pays the price, according to what the brands themselves declare: the foam layer under the skin (Wilson calls it Cushion Core), the channels, the butyl bladder and the air retention. The number of panels is not a quality step, it is a design signature: Wilson uses eight on the NBA ball and Molten twelve in its entire range.

The FIBA Approved seal certifies that that specific model, in that specific size, passed the tests of an accredited laboratory, and that the manufacturer pays the license. It is approved or not approved: it is not a ranking or a safety seal, and FIBA itself writes that it does not certify safety standards. Molten declares it both on its expensive composite ball and on the cheap one of the same range. If you are looking for one, check the model and size in the public FIBA list: approval is by model and by size.

The NBA ball, and NBA balls

The official NBA ball is manufactured by Wilson since the 2021-22 season, when it replaced Spalding after 37 seasons. It is made of Horween natural leather and has eight panels. Its rules do not say "size 7" anywhere: it only sets the pressure, between 7.5 and 8.5 pounds. That it is size 7 is true because of the ball they use, not because of its rule.

In our catalog, all the balls that carry the NBA logo, the WNBA or a team are from Wilson. They go from the leather game ball to the DRV range for the street, which Wilson labels entirely as outdoor, passing through the team balls and the minis. A ball with the Lakers shield is a Wilson ball with the Lakers shield: the license says that the shield is placed with the league's permission, not that it is the game ball. Look at the cover and the size like any other.

And Wilson is also the brand of the official ball of the Spanish Basketball Federation: in the 2026-27 season, the Liga Femenina Endesa, the Primera FEB, the training categories and minibasket play with Wilson models designated in the bases of each competition. Specific models, not any Wilson.

Complete your equipment

If what you are looking for is for a room, you have mini basketball hoops with the shield of the NBA teams. And if you play more than one team sport, the volleyballs are in their own section: they do not weigh or measure the same. The entire category, in basketball.

Doubts about the size? Write to us and we will tell you which one is right depending on where you play.

Guide updated in September 2026.