NBA to play on LED glass court for some All-Star Weekend events،
For the first time, the NBA will play on glass.
Part of All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis — including the entire All-Star Saturday Night lineup — will be played on a state-of-the-art LED video field that will be installed at Lucas Oil Stadium, the league said. Monday.
This means that the skill competition, 3-point contest, slam dunk contest and shooting match between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu will take place on the glass floor on February 17, as will the celebrity match on February 16 FEBRUARY. The match itself on February 18 will take place on a wooden field.
It gives us a little more leeway in what we can do in terms of interactive graphics, reactionary graphics that happen on the field, changing the design of the floor, changing colors, actual reaction to the play that happens. takes place on the court,” said Carlton Myers, NBA senior vice president overseeing production and live entertainment. “So we're really, really happy with the capabilities of what it gives us, what it brings us. And we think it's going to have a really big impact, both in the building and on television.”
NBA UNVEILS STATE-OF-THE-ART LED COURT FOR 2024 ALL-STAR EVENTS AT LUCAS OIL STADIUM
The NBA today unveiled the state-of-the-art LED video court that will be used for #NBAAllStar 2024 events taking place at Lucas Oil Stadium, which include the #RufflesCelebGame… pic.twitter.com/JzOLmFbgaK
-NBA (@NBA) February 5, 2024
The pitch, developed by German company ASB GlassFloor, has been used at events organized by FIBA, the sport's governing body. FIBA has approved the use of LED glass flooring during high-level competitions in 2022. The league has not revealed what the court costs, other than that it is more expensive than a wooden surface.
The NBA has been considering ways to use the product for some time. Andre Iguodala of the National Basketball Players Association and Joe Dumars, executive vice president of basketball operations for the NBA, conducted on-court experiments last week to check how the court played and whether it was safe.
The court is actually made of two layers of laminated safety glass, each 5 millimeters thick, the NBA said. The surface is opaque and all designs will be provided by the LED panels. The field will look different for each event – and part of what will be shown will be real-time game statistics, replays, video content and even player tracking animations.
The surface plays almost exactly the same as wood in terms of bounce and feel.
“What does it feel like? Does it have traction? Does it have power? These are the questions that immediately come to mind when you hear about of this court,” Dumars said. “And they received a response to our satisfaction.”
The NBA experimented with changes to court design earlier this season, when it used different-looking surfaces for the in-season tournament. These courts were still traditional wood, but with a different paint palette.
