NBA Set To Play On An LED Glass Court For Some All-Star Weekend Events – News18

For the primary time, the NBA will play on glass.

Part of All-Star weekend in Indianapolis — together with the complete All-Star Saturday Night lineup — will likely be performed on a state-of-the-artwork, full video LED court docket that will likely be put in at Lucas Oil Stadium, the league mentioned Monday.

That means the abilities competitors, the three-level contest, the slam dunk competitors and the capturing matchup between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu will happen on the glass ground on Feb. 17, as will the superstar sport on Feb. 16. The precise All-Star Game itself on Feb. 18 will stay on a wood court docket.

“It gives us a little bit more range in what we can do as far as interactive graphics, reactionary graphics that happen on the floor, changing the floor design, changing the colors, really reacting to the play that happens on the court,” mentioned Carlton Myers, an NBA senior vp overseeing dwell manufacturing and leisure. “So, we feel really, really good about the capabilities of what this gives us, what this provides us. And we think it’s going to be really impactful, both in the building and watching on television.”

The court docket, developed by the German firm ASB GlassFlooring, has been utilized in occasions by FIBA, the game’s governing physique. FIBA accepted utilization of LED glass flooring at high-tier competitions in 2022. The league didn’t reveal what the court docket prices, aside from it’s costlier than a wooden floor.

The NBA has been contemplating methods to make use of the product for a while. Andre Iguodala of the National Basketball Players Association and Joe Dumars, the NBA’s govt vp for basketball operations, experimented on the court docket final week to verify the way it performs and whether or not it’s secure.

The court docket itself is definitely two layers of laminated security glass, every 5 millimeters thick, the NBA mentioned. The floor is opaque, and all of the designs will likely be supplied by the LED panels. Courts can have a unique search for every occasion — and a part of what’ll be displayed are actual-time sport stats, replays, video content material and even participant monitoring animations.

The floor performs virtually precisely the identical approach wooden does, when it comes to bounce and really feel.

“What does it feel like? Does it have traction? Does it have give? Those were the questions that came to mind right away when you hear about this court,” Dumars mentioned. “And they were answered to our satisfaction.”

The NBA experimented with court docket design adjustments earlier this season, when it used completely different-wanting surfaces for the In-Season Tournament. Those courts have been nonetheless the normal wooden, simply with a unique paint scheme.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)