Adam Silver reveals NBA is moving to AI-automated officiating system
Adam Silver tells Pat McAfee how NBA plans to fix its officiating problem
A controversial out-of-bounds call in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals handed the Oklahoma City Thunder a possession that should have belonged to the San Antonio Spurs. Late in the third quarter, the ball clearly came off Chet Holmgren’s foot. The officials ruled otherwise. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson tried to challenge and couldn’t, then was handed a technical for pushing back. The call stood.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed that specific play on Wednesday on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show and used it to announce where the league is headed.
“We’re going to get to the point fairly quickly where, for example, out of bounds, we’re going to move to a system like [Hawk-Eye in professional tennis] where that whole category of calls will be automatic,” Silver said, per Yahoo Sports. “It’s gonna be Laker ball, Knick ball, Thunder ball, those calls will be done by an AI-automated system with cameras lined around the court.”
What the system will look like and what it means for referees going forward
Silver laid out the practical mechanics.
“It’ll be instantaneous, it’ll be automatic, just play on, let’s go, Spurs inbound and you move on. You won’t have to deal with challenges on those calls, but it will also allow the officials on the more difficult subjective calls to give their full attention to those,” Silver said.
Tennis has been using computer vision for line calls for 20 years. MLB introduced an automated balls and strikes challenge system in 2024, which attracted a lot of attention before becoming part of the game. Silver’s vision would apply the same idea to possession calls in basketball, eliminating that type of dispute instead of trying to improve human decision-making.
Adam Silver believes NBA will move to an automated replay system, via @PatMcAfeeShow:
“We’re going to move to a system like [Hawk-Eye] … [Objective] calls will be done by an AI automated system with cameras lined around the court … You won’t have to deal with challenges on… pic.twitter.com/XjBvvtoAzq
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) May 27, 2026
Silver also addressed flopping during the same appearance, calling it a layered problem.
“I would only say that there’s a difference between selling a call, exaggeration and a true flop, which is where you’re actually fooling the referees,” Silver said. “Officials can be fooled sometimes but our officiating is incredible.”
No specific date for implementation was provided. Silver mentioned “fairly quickly,” which does not guarantee a set timeline, according to Reuters via 740 The Fan. The Spurs-Thunder series, now tied 3-2 with Game 6 scheduled in San Antonio on Thursday, provided immediate context for his announcement.
Good move