Not the best background, and I wouldn't know that's a basketball without you titling the photo so, so I think that means the photo has no direct communication to the challenge subject (to me), although it meets the challenge based on the fact that you said it's a ball. Anyhow, what's that underneath the ball? It's blurry and hard to tell. It looks like feet of some sort. The lighting is dark. I would try to put the ball against a dark background and light the ball from different angles, keeping the crop the same if you want. Good Luck.
Is that a poor little wooden man under there? His feet don't add anything to an otherwise visually interesting shot, IMHO. I like the texture of the ball. :o)
Interesting color and texture on the ball, but the composition and the legs confuse me a little. My mind keeps putting scenarios in my head to explain it, and they're all weird! I'll just say... interesting idea.