NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced on May 27 that the league will “fairly quickly” move to an AI-automated system that uses cameras positioned around the court to determine possession on out-of-bounds calls, removing that category of decisions entirely from on-court referees. Speaking on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show, Silver said the system will work similarly to Hawk-Eye, the electronic line-calling technology used in professional tennis, and referenced MLB’s new automated ball-strike challenge system introduced this season as a comparable model. The announcement came one day after a disputed call in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, where Spurs center Victor Wembanyama was ruled to have touched the ball last on an out-of-bounds play. Replay clearly showed the ball had actually deflected off Thunder forward Chet Holmgren’s foot, but the ruling stood after officials conferred; Spurs coach Mitch Johnson was handed a technical foul after arguing for a challenge he did not have. OKC took a 3-2 series lead. Silver said he intends to render those possesion decisions instantaneous and automatic: once the system goes live, teams will no longer need to spend a challenge on such calls.
Silver drew a firm boundary around where automation ends, however. He said referees would remain essential for adjudicating physical contact and fouls — calls that require weighing degree of impairment and intent — which he described as inherently subjective and unsuitable for camera-only review. The NBA has previously announced a partnership with Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations for tracking technology, providing an existing infrastructure to build upon. No specific implementation timeline was given, though Silver’s use of “fairly quickly” suggested a rollout within the next season or two rather than a longer horizon. Under current rules, each team begins a game with one Coach’s Challenge and earns a second only if the first succeeds — a scarcity that makes burning a challenge on an out-of-bounds call a significant strategic cost.