adidas PRO 3.0 Official Basketball Game Ball Expired

This is not nearly as good as the Evolution or Baden Elite. I'd put the current Tf-1000 and Rock above it too. I'd put it above Nike's indoor ball, and say it is similar to the NXT, which I am not a fan of. That said, still a great value at $31.

The original TF-1000 was the best, but the ZK composite company went out of business about 20 years ago iirc, and the replacements have never been the same.

I got this ball a few weeks ago and here are some of my initial thoughts…

1. Wrinkles out of the box - it does come deflated and when you inflate it, the ball will still have wrinkles. Bounce and shoot around for 15 minutes and they'll be gone

2. Deep channels - this ball has the deepest channels of most of the major balls. The closest in comparison is the Spalding Legacy TF-1000. Makes palming the ball easier but I personally find it as more of a con than a pro when it comes to shooting.

3. Grip - I don't like a slick ball by any means, but this ball has more grip out of the box than any other basketball I've played with. You'll be looking like OBJ making one handed catches, without the gloves. It's almost like the ball gets stuck to your fingers and would impact my shot release. Instead of rolling off my fingers, I found my shot flatter than normal because of how grippy it is. In comparison, I also felt The Wilson EVO NXT was grippy out of the ball but after a few months of break in it's gotten to a nice point where it has nice tack and isn't overly grippy. The Adidias Pro 3.0 is breaking in a bit in the few weeks I've had it but only time will tell.

4. Durability - again, only time will tell but my initial thought is that this ball will have a shorter life cycle than most. While prices have gone up for all basketballs, I think most have become more disposable and you shouldn't expect one to last more than a year (more like 6-8 months) if you're using it heavily (>3x per week). The adidas ball is starting to look pretty worn quickly. I strongly recommend against using this ball outdoors. It will get eaten up quickly. Definitely think this will have a shorter life span if used heavily.

5. Pickup test - would your friends want to rotate this in for pickup games? Depends on your group, but if they're Wilson Evolution loyalists, I don't think they're a chance. Most of the groups I've played with are that way and the only 2 balls that have been able to break through into a pick up game are the Evo NXT (after 3-4 months of me breaking it in and we've now consistently use it in pickup runs) and the Nike Elite Championship 8p (only a few times). Even with break in, not sure I see the Adidas Pro 3.0 breaking in to the rotation.

6. Overall - if you like grip and deep channels then pick it up. I think at ~$30 it's good value, especially as basketballs become more disposable with shorter life spans (I miss the OG TF-1000 that aged like a fine wine). I think with break in times it will get a little nice but only time will tell. Just don't expect your pickup group to be clamoring for this to be game ball. But YMMV there as every group is different.