NBA to play on LED glass courtroom for some All-Star Weekend occasions

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

A part of All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis — together with the whole All-Star Saturday Night time lineup — can be performed on a state-of-the-art, full video LED courtroom that can be put in at Lucas Oil Stadium, the league stated Monday.

Which means the talents competitors, the 3-point contest, the slam dunk competitors and the capturing matchup between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu will happen on the glass ground Feb. 17, as will the celeb recreation Feb. 16. The All-Star Recreation itself on Feb. 18 will stay on a wood courtroom.

“It provides us a bit of bit extra vary in what we will do so far as interactive graphics, reactionary graphics that occur on the ground, altering the ground design, altering the colours, actually reacting to the play that occurs on the courtroom,” stated Carlton Myers, an NBA senior vp overseeing stay manufacturing and leisure. “So, we really feel actually, actually good in regards to the capabilities of what this provides us, what this gives us. And we expect it’ll be actually impactful, each within the constructing and watching on tv.”

NBA UNVEILS STATE-OF-THE-ART LED COURT FOR ALL-STAR 2024 EVENTS TAKING PLACE AT LUCAS OIL STADIUM

The NBA at this time unveiled the state-of-the-art full video LED courtroom that can be used for #NBAAllStar 2024 occasions going down at Lucas Oil Stadium, which embrace the #RufflesCelebGame… pic.twitter.com/JzOLmFbgaK

— NBA (@NBA) February 5, 2024

The courtroom, developed by the German firm ASB GlassFloor, has been utilized in occasions by FIBA, the game’s governing physique. FIBA authorised utilization of LED glass flooring at top-tier competitions in 2022. The league did not reveal what the courtroom prices, aside from it is dearer than a wooden floor.

The NBA has been contemplating methods to make use of the product for a while. Andre Iguodala of the Nationwide Basketball Gamers Affiliation and Joe Dumars, the NBA’s government vp for basketball operations, experimented on the courtroom final week to verify the way it performs and whether or not it is protected.

The courtroom is definitely two layers of laminated security glass, every 5 millimeters thick, the NBA stated. The floor is opaque, and all of the designs can be supplied by the LED panels. The courtroom could have a unique search for every occasion — and a part of what’ll be displayed are real-time recreation stats, replays, video content material and even participant monitoring animations.

The floor performs nearly precisely the identical method wooden does by way of bounce and really feel.

“What does it really feel like? Does it have traction? Does it have give? These have been the questions that got here to thoughts immediately once you hear about this courtroom,” Dumars stated. “They usually have been answered to our satisfaction.”

The NBA experimented with courtroom design modifications earlier this season, when it used different-looking surfaces for the in-season event. These courts have been nonetheless the standard wooden, simply with a unique paint scheme.