The NBA plans to use AI to review officiating calls, according to Commissioner Adam Silver.

Speaking on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show, Silver outlined a framework intended to remove non-judgment calls, such as out-of-bounds tracking and line violations, from human officials.

“We’re going to move to a system like [Hawk-Eye] where that whole category of calls will be automatic,” Silver said. “Those calls will be done by an AI automated system, with cameras lined around the court.”

Silver Promises Smooth, Automatic Process

The proposal builds upon the league’s existing partnership with Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations to generate instantaneous decisions.

The system aims to make boundary lines and clock violations automatic without triggering manual replay interruptions or coaches’ challenges.

According to league officials, the integration targets structural efficiency. “It will take all those so-called objective calls out of the hands of the referees,” Silver noted. “It will be instantaneous. It will be automatic. Just play on.”

Adam Silver, NBA commissioner, speaking at a press conference for All-Star 2025.

Human Officials Can Focus On Other Decisions

With AI handling objective calls, on-court referees can focus exclusively on physical contact, positioning, and safety infractions.

The league maintains that assessing defensive and offensive compliance requires contextual on-court positioning that cannot be fully replicated via automated video feeds.

“There’s often contact on every play. It doesn’t mean there’s a foul,” Silver explained. “They’re trying to measure, sort of, whether that contact is impeding the player, how hard that contact is. It’s something that can’t just be done on camera. They’re actually feeling the contact because they’re on the floor there.”

Why AI, Why Now

NBA officiating has been under sustained pressure for several seasons, with the league already defending a spike in foul calls during the playoffs that drew pointed criticism from players and media alike.

Missed calls in elimination games have a way of becoming the story – and Silver has been consistent that the league’s goal is to reduce the number of calls that are clearly, verifiably wrong.

Three NBA referees discussing with a basketball during a game.

Will Players Accept AI Calls?

The player reaction to Silver’s comments is worth watching. Frustration with officiating has been one of the most consistent storylines in the NBA in recent years – players like Jaylen Brown have gone on record blasting officiating decisions and calling out specific behavior from opponents that they felt referees were missing.

NBA player arguing with referee during a game with a crowd in the background.

Players may be more likely to accept calls made by machines, while referees can claim distance from the decisions. That in itself could be a point of contention if officials lean too heavily on technology.

In soccer, referees have been accused of becoming too passive, letting Video Assistant Referees (VAR) make the important decisions.

There’s a real debate about where AI review ends, and over-automation begins. Many worry that this is the first step towards fully automated decision-making, taking away context and ruining the flow of a game.

Expanding its scope could slow the game or introduce its own inconsistencies. That tension isn’t going away just because Silver says the tools will be better.

Final Analysis

Silver has never promised perfect officiating, and he’s not doing that now. What he is doing is committing the NBA to a more measurable standard. If a camera can definitively resolve a decision, then it should not be left to a referee’s unaided perception.

The real test comes when an AI review results in a pivotal turning point in a crucial game. If all goes smoothly, expect more technology to be used in matches to aid referees.

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