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Never Inflated a Basketball before?
Don't let that make you feel deflated. You might one day find yourself needing to pump up a basketball and discover something about yourself. You have never actually inflated a basketball!
Your friends always did it. Maybe your siblings did it. Or perhaps you always just bought an inflated basketball off the shelf and never really noticed it was flat.
Today you will learn how to inflate your own basketball and be a hero to the next person who also has never pumped a ball before.
Need to Know
On every basketball you should be able to find the correct information you need to know about inflating that ball.
Find Info
This information is found on the basketball near the inflation valve. Follow the black channels until to find the spot you put the needle into. Now look just above that area. Well done! You found something you never noticed before.
Relevant information
You will always find the basketballs relevant information on the ball. All the information you need to know about inflation pressure is found here.
PSI?
These three little letters stand for Pounds per Square Inch. What that exactly means is probably not something you really need to know at this point. However, you do need to know how much PSI your basketball recommends.
How Much PSI?
There you will see it says 7 to 9 PSI on most basketballs. This means you can pump this type of ball up, anywhere to your likely between those numbers.
However, we recommend starting around 5 – 6 PSI if playing outside and see how that feels.
You can always pump it up a bit more if you like.
How Will You Know?
Most people just guess. You pump the ball a few times and then bounce it to see how it feels. You can push on the ball itself with your thumbs to find out how inflated it feels. But if you have never pumped a basketball before or are new to the game this information probably hasn't helped much.
So we recommend a helpful handy tool we discovered last year! The Wilson DRV Pump Kit. You can use any tool that measure the pressure inside your basketball. But we found the DRV pump kit to be very easy and fast to use.
How Does It Work?
The DRV pump inflates your basketball in half the time of a standard pump & comes with a pressure gauge. This is a PSI reader & will ensure your basketball gets its proper inflation levels. The shiny metal thing in the photo above is the PSI reader.
Before you use this amazing little kit of convenience, you will need to know how to insert the pump needle into your basketball.
How To Do This
This can make you quite nervous. We cut open a basketball and inserted the needle into the valve while the ball was open to see exactly what was taking place in there. Rest assured its fine.
If your pump doesn't have the needle attached yet, most just screw on top, so go ahead and attached the needle to your pump.
Important Fact!
Never push the needle into a basketball without placing water on both the needle tip and on the basketball valve. This helps the needle go in without damaging the ball.
Ready to Inflate!
Now you are all set to go. Slowly push the needle into the basketball valve until you have a seal. Do not start inflating it if half the needle is still showing. As you insert the needle you might find some resistance but that is standard.
The valve needs to be like this, so air doesn't escape while your shooting hoops.
So once the needle is all the way in your basketball start inflating.
How Many Pumps?
If you are using the Wilson DRV Pump we actually counted this. A basketball that is entirely deflated took 100 pumps. Keep in mind the DRV pumps faster than a standard pump.
Get your basketball to the point where it feels somewhat firm, but you can still push on it with some give.
You do not have to take the needle out to test that. But do not try a bounce test with the pump attached!
Once you think the basketball is somewhat inflated pull the needle out of your basketball by the tip of the pump slowly.
Then use our water suggestion again on the basketball and now in the pressure gauge. Place the pressure gauge into the basketball the same way you inserted the pump.
PSI Reading
Your pressure gauge will then pop up the top, showing you how much PSI is currently inside your basketball. If nothing happens on the gauge that just means your ball is so flat that it’s at zero PSI. So, keep pumping!
You may try quite a few times, pumping the ball, testing the bounce & trying the gauge. That is standard especially if you would like an accurate reading.
Don't Worry Your Normal
Now you know how to inflate a basketball. This article had quite a few words didn't it. So now you don't have to feel so silly. It's not as straight forward as it may have seemed.
Eventually you may not need to use the pressure gauge every time you ball. Once you get familiar with how you like your basketball PSI levels you can do what most people do and guess. Just don't over pump it!
If you do happen to make the rookie mistake of over pumping your basketball we have an article & video coming out soon with step by step instructions on how to safely release pressure out of your basketball.
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