Tissot began its partnership with the NBA in 2015 as the official timekeeper and in the 11 years since they have become a constant feature of NBA games by developing custom shot clocks and custom NBA timing systems. They’re also a common sight on players’ wrists thanks to collaborations and partnerships with some of the game’s most recognisable stars, such as the Damian Lillard Special Edition. Now they’ve produced a new watch designed for use on and off the court, the Tissot Supersport NBA.
Starting with the case, it measures 42mm in diameter and is made from sand-blasted steel with a matte finish. That’s paired with a grey rubber strap and a grey dial to create a monochromatic colour palette. At first, you might be wondering why an NBA watch would be monochrome when the sport itself is so colourful – between the colour of the ball and the iconic jerseys of the teams – but that’s because it’s inspired by what players wear when they’re not on court: the athletic tech-wear that you might wear to gym or training, which is predominantly monochrome too.
In many regards, the watch is all about training for those big moments in basketball, the buzzer beaters and last second attempts at basket when the shot clock is about to tick over to 0. For that reason, the 60-second timing bezel is equipped with a 24-second marking, which is a reference to the 24 second rule that necessitates an attacking team to make an attempt to score within 24 seconds of gaining possession. If you’re training or in a more casual pick-up game then maybe you don’t have access to fancy tech like Tissot’s courtside shot clock, so having someone on the sidelines with a chronograph is a reasonable solution.
Other basketball related features on the dial of the Tissot Supersport NBA include the NBA logo on the central chronograph seconds hand, a date window shaped like the area under the basket, and lines between the hour markers that are designed to look like the markings on a court. Beyond those details, it’s a fairly minimal interpretation of a chronograph with bold hour markers, a peripheral 60-second scale and subdials for 30-minute timer, 1/10th of second timer and running seconds.
Turn the watch over and you’ll find a commemorative caseback dedicated to the Western and Eastern Conferences. The Conferences are how the NBA structures its geographic regions, essentially forming two mini tournaments with their own subdivisions and the winners of each Conference play-off against each other in the NBA finals.
Housed inside the Tissot Supersport NBA is the quartz calibre G10. Quartz is generally considered less prestigious that a mechanical movement as it’s battery powered but there are some advantages. Quartz is significantly more accurate than mechanical clockwork and when you’re trying to time a game as fast paced and timing intensive as basketball, the confidence and reliability of quartz makes sense.
The watch is a non-limited special edition priced at £430. That actually makes it the most affordable NBA partnership watch in the current collection, sliding in just below the £435 Supersport Basketball edition which is a significantly larger watch at 45.5mm. To my mind the biggest strength of the Supersport NBA is the fact that it’s designed for the daily life of a basketball player or fan. The details are subtle and the colours have been picked so that it works with outfits that athletes wear day-to-day rather than just on game day.
Price and Specs:
More details at Tissot.
