Evo NXT vs Evolution - What's The Difference?

Our Evolution basketball is the #1 selling basketball in the country— and for good reason. The first thing anyone will tell you about the ball is how good the Evolution feels.

The ball has a microfiber cover that provides great grip and a soft touch that everybody knows and loves.

“The channels share a similar texture and material as the rest of the ball— which adds to the control and feel everybody is talking about,” explained Ben DeLaCruz, Wilson Senior Product Line Manager. “The cushion core offers a softer touch around the rim. What that means is that the ball will stay on the rim a little bit longer, allowing you to make more shots.”

The Evolution ball also comes in a variety of colors so you can match the ball to your jersey or your own personal style.

 

 

To create the Evo NXT, Wilson engineers combined properties of the Evolution basketball with our older NCAA Solution ball.

Ben explained, “We wanted to bring the moisture management properties of the NCAA game ball to the Evo NXT, and we were able to do that with a new Micro-Touch cover.”

“The cover adds an additional layer of texture which channels away moisture and gives you better grip throughout the game. The channels themselves are made of a textured composite material which is going to offer a lot more grip compared to the smooth rubber channels you will see on other balls.”

One of the most notable qualities of Evo NXT is its bright color. “The electric orange color is in itself a technology,” said Blake Rus, Global Marketing Director of Wilson Team Sports. “The bright color of the ball gives it better contrast against darker backgrounds.”

The inside of the Evo NXT features our super soft core, which offers additional cushioning so players can really dig into the cover material of the ball— which provides better grip and control.

And finally, the Evo NXT features Extended Range Tech. The super soft core allows for redistribution of the weight and balance of the ball, allowing players to shoot from longer range.

 

 

Now that we have broken down the major differences between the two balls, here are answers to some of our most asked questions:

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE EVOLUTION AND EVO NXT?

The biggest difference between the Evolution and the Evo NXT is the cover material. The Evolution has a premium micro-fiber cover that provides a soft feel that players have loved for years. The Evo NXT takes things a step further--- featuring an extra layer of texture that channels moisture away from the cover, providing moisture management.

WHAT MAKES THE EVO NXT A STEP UP FROM THE PREVIOUS WILSON NCAA GAME BALL?

The Evo NXT combines the best features from the NCAA Solution and Evolution game balls. 

The Evo NXT combines the durability and feel of our famous Evolution ball, the grip and moisture management of our Solution ball plus a suite of new technology to give shooters the best range and feel.

WHAT ARE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT TECHNICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO BALLS?

The balls have common attributes, but the Evo NXT features our newest technologies.

The Evo NXT has a Super Soft core which is softer than the Evolution alone with micro-touch cover material. However, production specifications such as weight, size, and product lifespan remain consistent for both basketballs.

We recommend inflating the Evo NXT basketball to 7 PSI and the Evolution to 8 PSI for optimal performance.

DO YOU HAVE ANY INTERESTING FACTS TO SHARE ABOUT EITHER OF THE BALLS?

The Evo NXT was launched after 2+ years of development and testing with a variety of players ranging from high schoolers to professional athletes. The Evo NXT was first launched in 2019 and is now played all around the world.

In addition to our partnership with the NCAA, the Wilson Evo NXT is also being used at the pinnacle of women’s and international games. The Evo NXT was introduced as the official game basketball of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Basketball Africa League (BAL) in early 2021 and has been the official ball of FIBA’s Basketball Champions League (BCL) since 2019.

A number of conferences use the NCAA Evo NXT as the official ball of Men’s & Women’s conference championships, such as the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, American, WAC and more.

Many men’s and women’s Power 5 programs use the Evo NXT throughout the NCAA regular season, such as Kansas, Auburn, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Maryland, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Louisville, Boston College, UCLA and Utah.

The Evo NXT is also the official ball of 33 High School State Associations around the U.S.--- roughly 65% of all high school basketball championships.

And don’t forget about grassroots! Evo NXT is used by Big Shots Basketball (one of the largest grassroots tournaments in the U.S.) providing programming to more than 55,000 middle/high school-aged players each year.