NBA Tech Summit: Jerseys, Movies On Court & More, A Breakdown Of Adam Silver’s NB-AI

The NBA is entering a new era of technological revolution. Basketball enthusiasts may soon watch an NBA game in the animated style reminiscent of ‘Into the Spider-Verse.’ At the 24th annual NBA All-Star Technology Summit, Adam Silver, along with rookie Victor Wembanyama, unveiled the groundbreaking technology NB-AI, a voice-powered assistant that uses artificial intelligence to “personalize the live game viewing experience.”

As a demo of their new product, Silver and Wemby ran a play where they asked the NB-AI to show an Indiana Pacers game as a Spider-Man movie, and in no time, players turned into cartoon characters. Moreover, the sound and digital effects were also reminiscent of an animated movie. Apart from turning a game into a movie, the fans can also use the technology to buy the sneakers a certain player is wearing in real-time or identify close contests happening at the moment. NB-AI can also offer real-time updates, access to exclusive content, and personalized statistical preferences.

Silver said at the Tech Summit, “Today, AI is creating a similar excitement to what we saw around the early days of the internet. Intuitively, most of us have a sense that artificial intelligence is going to change our lives. The question, at least for me, is ‘how?’” 

Meanwhile, Wemby, who was one of the first people to test out the technology, remarked, “It’s incredible. It’s still in the early days. Only the future will say what it will look like.”

While the possibilities are endless with the introduction of this new technology, it wasn’t received well among the fans, with most people slamming it as a waste of resources and time. But this isn’t the league’s first dance with artificial technology.

Looking back at the NBA’s AI endeavors

The NBA has been flirting with AI for quite a while, using it to generate real-time highlights, help referees determine whether goal-tending occurred, and even translate play-by-play into multiple languages. In 2019, the league introduced the concept of smart jerseys, which could change the number and name on the back of a jersey with a simple tap. However, nothing ever came out of it.

Read More: “This Is The Lamest Thing”: Adam Silver’s Tech Summit And Bombshell Updates Gets Tarnished By Displeased Fans

Then, in 2022, the league relaunched its app in partnership with Microsoft with new advanced personalization features and enhanced live game-viewing options, courtesy of Azure AI. The league was once again back in 2023 with a new immersive technology that used augmented reality to help users superimpose themselves in live games, besides high-profile influencer and celebrity commentary, the ability to transport the game to virtual locations, new animated graphics, integrated betting, and enhanced camera angles.

While the league is making impressive strides in revolutionizing the NBA, it has failed to address the prevalent issues and complaints from fans, players, and coaches to make sure the game itself is as great as possible.

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