Spalding TF DNA Smart Basketball with Training App & 1-Year Subscription, Indoor/Outdoor Basketball, Tracks Shooting Performance & Training Metrics

I’m a mom of three boys — two of them (13 and 17) eat, sleep, and breathe basketball. We have hoops in the driveway, balls rolling through the house, and highlight reels constantly playing in the background. So just when I thought they couldn’t possibly get more obsessed, we found this Spalding TF DNA Smart Basketball — and now I might actually need to buy another one just to keep the peace. The ball itself is legit. It’s got that classic Spalding feel — great grip, perfect bounce, and none of that “tech gadget” gimmick vibe. You’d never even know there’s software inside. My boys use it nonstop, indoors and out, and it’s held up like a real game ball. The real magic, though, is the app. It connects to your phone in seconds via Bluetooth and instantly starts tracking shots, arcs, angles, and even footwork. It gives them feedback that actually makes sense — not just numbers, but real coaching tips and drills they can follow. It’s like having a personal trainer built into the ball. They’ve been spending hours out there competing against each other, trying to beat their own stats, and honestly, it’s the best kind of motivation. I love that they’re getting real skill work in without needing a gym or coach — and they love that it feels like a game. If you’ve got basketball kids (or a husband who still thinks he’s NBA-bound), this thing is worth it. It’s durable, it’s smart, and it makes training actually fun. I’m seriously impressed — and I say that as someone who has bought way too many basketballs over the years. Now the only question is: do I order a second one before the next argument breaks out?

Alright, so I’m 36 now — not trying to make the league, but still hooping regularly and always looking for ways to stay sharp. I grabbed this Spalding TF DNA Smart Basketball kind of on a whim, not totally sure what to expect, and honestly… it’s way better than I thought it’d be. First off, the ball itself is solid. It’s got that true Spalding feel — good grip, nice bounce, doesn’t feel like some techie gimmick stuffed into a cheap rubber shell. Honestly, you wouldn’t even know there is software in it. I’ve used it both indoors and on a good outdoor court, and it holds up just like any high-quality game ball. But where this thing really shines is the app. You pair the ball to your phone (super simple Bluetooth setup), and from there it opens up a whole world of training tools. The app tracks makes, misses, shot arcs, release angles — even footwork to some extent. I was skeptical about how accurate it would be, but after a few sessions, I could tell it was really dialing in on my patterns. It’s not just giving you random data either — it’s actionable. You can actually see where you’re inconsistent and start working on it. The ball came with a one-year subscription to the app, which honestly takes everything to the next level. You get access to structured drills, daily workouts, and challenges that feel like having a personal shooting coach in your pocket. There’s real coaching baked in, and it keeps things fresh — whether you’re training solo or just squeezing in reps between pickup games. Another underrated part is the motivation factor. Having stats to beat and progress to track just makes it more fun to train. I’ve found myself going out to shoot more often just because I want to see how I’m improving. Only minor downside is you need to make sure you’re somewhere with a clean court and decent lighting for the best tracking — but that’s to be expected. Other than that, no complaints. If you’re serious about improving your game — or just love to nerd out on your shooting — this ball’s 100% worth it. It’s not a toy. It’s a real training tool that helps you level up without needing a rebounder, coach, or expensive gym membership. Honestly wish I had this 15 years ago.

I really like the Spalding TF DNA Basketball. Sometimes, you don't always have a coach to critique your shot, and I think this basketball with the subscription to the app is a great substitute, and its insanely cheaper as well. The yearly app subscription is 124.99, so about 10 bucks a month and some change. A trainer can range from $80 - $200 for a single hour. On the app, when you shoot, theres 4 metrics it looks at. 1) Release time 2) Shot arc 3) Rotation on the basketball 4) Shooting form So the app tracks all of that, and you can make it so it gives you feedback after every shot. Furthermore, you can find your own sweet spots based on the shots made, and set those values in the app, so the app will tell you how far you're deviating from your personal high percentage shots. It also tracks how many shots you've taken in a session, makes in that session, and misses within that session, which is extremely helpful if you're practicing by yourself. The only thing I will say is that for now, the app is on iPhone only, but they have reassured me they are working on an Android app, dunno when its coming out though. Sometimes the app registers a miss as a make, and vice versa, BUT its extremely rare. I would say about 4 every 100 shots. However, my net is a little loose, and the customer service team said that plays a factor into it, so i'll put that on me to change the net. The ball itself feels really close to the spalding all court basketball, but a little softer. It does not feel heavier or lighter than a regular ball, so you don't have to worry about that. The bounce is just like any other ball, if you follow t he instructions and inflate it to 8 PSI. The customer service team is great, and has been very responsive, which is amazing. No bs, I would definitely buy this ball again!

It’s okay, def has helped me with my form and pain but the accuracy of shots taken, being made, and simply dribbling needs some upgrades. It’ll misread some of the movement by the ball and won’t record some of the shots taken and or made.

This smart ball will change your hoopers life! Don’t hesitate to purchase, your child will thank you for it! Once you install the app, you have a personal pro trainer at your fingertips. It will give you training videos, challenges, drills, shot statistics and weekly targets. My hooper benefits greatly from the realtime feedback he gets from each shot, this beats going over film. With immediate feedback he can adjust and correct with each shot. The app also includes monthly competition with other hoopers to win prizes which really motivates my child. I highly recommend the Spalding TF DNA basketball to any child who is serious about improving his shot! You can’t go wrong with this purchase!

To use the tracking feature you need to purchase a subscription which is $124.99 a year. The ball comes with a year subscription which did not work and said it was linked to another email address. ( for those getting this for a child they need to be 13 to have an account so you either have to work around this or set it up on your phone which will log their workouts to your apple health app.). on the surface seemed like a good idea and was looking forward to seeing how it worked. My daughter was excited to learn how to improve her shooting with real time feedback and be able to see how she stacks up to other users. Sever let down from a big name in basketball. Returning due to the sever frustration with this product and the app. Ball felt cheaper than the Wilson balls that my kids frequently use as well. For being a multi surface ball it feels like it would get chewed up and wore down fast on anything other than an indoor court.

This ball is really essential to have. A guy for my five-year-old son that’s learning how to play basketball and by having this ball a shoot around we get to see the speed of his shot release the spin rate and release rate.

**UPDATE: Okay, so support got a hold of us and gave us some adjustments to make. First, the net matters. Ours is pretty old and well used and didn’t slow the ball down, so that is why it was not counting the swishes. Next off, we were keeping the phone on the steel pole while playing, this was probably causing interference with the Bluetooth and counting the stuff bouncing off the rim. Finally, you can turn the feedback off completely for arch, release, etc. and that has made it much more useful for a youth baller. He just did over 50 shots and it was dead accurate. If you get any in accuracy, just reach out and they will guide you on making adjustments. Obviously, these would be good items to post at the point of sale, but they sound committed to learning and eager for feedback. Definitely an awesome technology to bring to the market. Have no reason to offer less than 5 stars. Youth coach here. My son spent his hard earned money for this ball and within 24 hours the issues are pretty apparent. The accuracy of the software is very low. We compared our typical scratch paper tracking to the results of the software and it was off by 20-30% on what shots he made and missed. The overall percentage was less than that the ones I marked as made the ones the system marked were way different. Next off, we work hard on arch and the app coaches out on ball spin and arch, but when his arch was going in and passing the eyeball test for me, app was instructing him to put more arch. The system is interesting and there are a lot of influencer reviews for positivity, but from a non-influencer coach, I would highly not recommend this product. Save your self $160 and $125 a year and buy a nice indoor ball and a nice outdoor ball and use some spreadsheets and your favorite AI system. Lackluster effort from Spalding. 1/5 stars for an interesting idea, but nothing more due to the lack of any meaningful results that we anticipated the money grab subscription required to float it. Hoping that I can return this for my guy.