INDIANAPOLIS — Think of it as a giant TV screen, that’s the comparison NBA VP of Live Production and Entertainment Carlton Myers made to reporters on Thursday. The big difference between the one lying down in Lucas Oil Stadium and the one in your living room? Elite athletes can play basketball on this one.
Myers said the NBA first saw the court this past summer at the Women’s U-19 FIBA tournament in Madrid. The company behind the court, ASB GlassFloor, premiered the flashy and futuristic court to the world at the game.
”From that point on there was a lot of talk about would the NBA do something like this,” Myers said.
After much research and work with ASB GlassFloor, the court arrived at Lucas Oil Stadium for the NBA Celebrity game on Friday night and then NBA All-Star Saturday Night.
”A lot of people worked on it to get us to this point and here it is,” Myers said. I mean, it’s fantastic.”
WHAT THE COURT CAN DO
”None of the lines are there, none of the markings are there,” Myers said. “It’s all video and we can change it to anything we want. Imagine how dynamic that is and the featured elements we can do throughout the game to enhance what’s going on as a part of the competition.”
”If a shot goes in we could do an embellishment on the court,” Myers said. “Something that you would normally see on the video board you would see on the court.”
The court can also track players’ movements and paths they take on the court through devices they’re wearing.
”If you’ve played a video game and seen an icon underneath a player it’s just like that, and we can do that on this court,” Myers said.
Each of the events on the court, including the celebrity game, dunk contest, three-point contest, skills competition and much anticipated three-point matchup between Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu will have a different court that the NBA can change in seconds.
”Seamlessly, we can go from one thing to another, which is very helpful for us when we’re rehearsing and as well enhancing all the different things we’re going to do across all of the events on these nights,” Myers said.
Myers said this was just a glimpse of what the LED court could do and what the NBA plans to do with it All-Star Weekend.
“I’m not going to give all the secrets away,” Myers said. “We’re going to save some things for people to tune in and see on Saturday.”
HOW THE COURT WORKS
Although Myers compared the court to a TV, the playing surface is much more complex than the screens thousands will watch the NBA All-Star Saturday night from home.
”It’s a glass surface that has these raised dots that give it the grip,” Myers said. “It’s virtually unbreakable and it has the same qualities of a maple floor.”
Underneath the glass surface are traditional LED panels that you would see on any large screen inside a basketball area.
”Then there is a frame that those panels are mounted into,” Myers said. “There’s a whole processing unit underneath, there is air conditioning that goes under there to keep it cool. It’s a pretty complicated situation.”
As for how much the court cost the NBA, Myers jokingly asked reporters how much they would pay for it.
”I can’t get into specifics,” he said. “Let’s just say it’s not cheap.”
FOX59/CBS4 reporter Michael VanSchoik got a behind-the-scenes look at the court before it went into Lucas Oil Stadium and talked to ASB GlassFloor owner Christof Babinsky.
WILL THE PLAYERS NOTICE A DIFFERENCE
Going from playing on the traditional hardwood to glass might cause concern in most basketball fan’s minds but Myers said it’s been tested.
”The technology had advanced to a point where we felt comfortable putting our players, our celebrities on the court,” Myers said. “It’s been signed off by all the proper people, as well as, been tested by all of the third-parties we would usually test an NBA court on.”
Glass and wood certainly seem like it would feel different to run on, as well, but Myers said players should get used to it quickly.
“Players will notice a difference at first but once you’re out there for more than five minutes it goes away and feels like a real floor,” Myers said.
Even if players fall on it, Myers said the landing will actually be less painful than a traditional NBA maple court.
“If you were to rub your arm against a maple flor you would get a raspberry or a burn,” Myers said. “That doesn’t happen with this surface because of the engineering and way it’s been developed.”
One aspect that could be a learning curve for players is the court changing underneath them as they’re playing with different embellishments and reactions to the play on the court. Myers said they’re taking things slow to make sure they don’t negatively impact the players.
“We’re taking our time with the type of graphics and embellishments we do while they’re playing because we don’t want to be a distraction,” Myers said.
IS THIS THE FUTURE OF NBA COURTS?
A court like this could change the way fans watch basketball, both on TV and in the arena. It could also open avenues to putting different advertisements on the court throughout the game. Myers didn’t rule out this LED court being the future of the NBA but said they have a ways to go.
”It’s not the immediate future, I think there’s a path towards it,” Myers said. “We’re not close to that being something that’s ready for installation in an NBA arena yet.”
Myers said the time and labor the court takes to install plays a large factor.
“There is a significant process that takes to install a court like this. If you’re familiar with most NBA buildings they’re multi-purpose buildings and they turn around from basketball to hockey to concerts sometimes over the course of one day. You would not be able to do that with this court, it’s too labor-intensive to get the court out there, at this point.”
But, don’t count out the possibility of seeing this court in a real NBA game.
”There is a learning process that we’re going through with the company that created the court to get the time down so in the future that would be possible,” Myers said.
This is the largest installation of this LED floor ever.
”Our expectation is the fans are going to really enjoy it. Both the fans in the building and the fans at home. One thing it definitely does is it draws your eye to what’s going on. All of the enhancements and embellishments that we can od on the court when something happens positive are only going to further emphasize all the incredible moments,” Myers said.
Myers said that is part of keeping basketball fans engaged and the NBA always wants to be on the cutting edge of technology.
“Anything that going to bring fans closer to the game and get them more interested in what they’re doing we continually want to push the envelope there,” Myers said. ”Entertainment is king and content as king as well so with a court like this, you can do both at the same time.”
NBA All-Star Saturday night starts inside Lucas Oil Stadium at 8 p.m. ET with the KIA Skills Challenge, Starry 3 Point Contest, Stephen Vs. Sabrina 3-Point Challenge and then the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest.
