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Nike’s 'PlayStation' shoes make hypebeasts out of gamers
It's not often we see a shoe that appeals to both the sneakerhead and gamer communities. But Nike managed to do exactly that with the PG2, the second signature model of professional basketball player Paul George, which features a design inspired by Sony's PlayStation console and its DualShock controller. Nike says that George, who plays for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, worked closely with PG2 designer Tony Hardman to create an on-court shoe that would represent his love for gaming and, specifically, the PlayStation.
Nike’s ‘PlayStation’ PG2s are like a DualShock for your feet
Nike has never been afraid to use different technologies to experiment with its sneakers. After all, this is the company that brought you the Mag and HyperAdapt, two shoes powered by auto-lacing mechanisms. And while its latest basketball silhouette isn't as tech-forward as those, there's still plenty to like here, especially if you're both a sneakerhead and an avid gamer. Meet the PG2, Paul George's new signature shoe, which Nike created in collaboration with Sony and was inspired by the PlayStation. Sorry, Xbox, maybe next time.
Yahoo Sports teams with NBA on live games, AR and more
Verizon isn't just obsessed with football. The carrier has unveiled an expanded partnership with the NBA that will make basketball games and related content available across Yahoo and "other Verizon media platforms." To start, it's making much ado over NBA League Pass. You'll have the option of buying League Pass on sites like Yahoo Sports, and Verizon's "It's On Us" program will let you preview what you'd get without committing to a purchase. There will be additional material for non-subscribers, too.
Dallas Mavericks are the latest pro team to accept cryptocurrency
You don't just have to attend Sacramento Kings games if you're itching to spend some digital money on a pro sports event. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has confirmed (both to Bloomberg and on Twitter) that his basketball team will start accepting bitcoin and ethereum for ticket purchases during the 2018-2019 NBA season. It'll also accept tokens from companies with "business relationships." In short: if you've benefited from the bitcoin boom, you can probably score some courtside seats.
LeBron James is making a high school basketball series for YouTube
YouTube has already lined up a few big names for original shows on its Red subscription service, and now that includes sports superstars. LeBron James is executive producing Best Shot, an eight-episode documentary covering a high school basketball team mentored by former NBA player Jay Williams. It'll follow the students as they both pursue their hoop dreams and grapple with life challenges. Michael John Warren (best known for his documentaries on Jay-Z and Nicki Minaj) is directing.
Facebook adds live college basketball games to its Watch tab
Facebook has been getting more and more interesting content in efforts to build out its Watch tab, and now it's added college basketball to the mix. The social network has partnered with Stadium, a multiplatform network for sports, to exclusively show 47 live college basketball games on Facebook Watch. It kicks off tonight, with Belmont at Middle Tennessee starting at 7:30 PM ET.
BBC to stream 1,000 extra hours of live sport each year
The BBC continues to reduce the amount of public money it spends, it's led to some notable sporting events being cut from its programming. It's already been forced to drop the rights to big-name British golfing tournaments, Formula 1 and perhaps the most prestigious global sporting event of all: the Olympics (although it has since agreed a sub-licencing deal with Discovery-owned Eurosport). Instead, the corporation has focused on sports that it believes are most valuable to licence fee payers, including Wimbledon tennis and Six Nations rugby. Expanding that commitment, the BBC today announced "its biggest increase of live sport in a generation," confirming that will add 1,000 extra hours of live sport to the BBC Sport and iPlayer websites each year.
Snapchat has cute AR foam fingers for you to wave at NBA games
With its 2017-2018 season getting ready to tip off tomorrow, the NBA's been quite busy making tech announcements ahead of it. Not only did it reveal an augmented reality app for the iPhone yesterday, but now it's teaming up with Snap Inc. on a brand new Lens experience for Snapchat. Fans who are at or near an NBA arena this coming year will get access to special Lenses, which let you place a digital foam finger in a physical area around you. As you can see above, the cute character wears team jerseys and can show different emotions that you can share when you send snaps to your friends.
All 30 NBA teams will have their own Alexa skill this season
Amazon's Alexa is already helpful for broadcasting sports scores upon request. For the upcoming NBA season though, the virtual assistant will serve up more detailed information on every team in the league. All 30 teams will have their own Alexa Skills, which means you can ask for things like the date of the next home game, who your teams plays on a specific date, if they're winning, stats leaders, standings and the latest team news.
Nike’s NFC-powered NBA jerseys are a door to exclusive goods
When the National Basketball Association's 2017-2018 season tips off on October 17th, it will mark the beginning of a new era for the league. For the first time in more than a decade, all 30 teams are going to wear Nike uniforms on the court. The company is replacing Adidas as the NBA's main apparel sponsor, after its sportswear rival decided not to renew a deal that had been in place since 2006. Now, as part of Nike's plan to create novel experiences for fans through this partnership, it is launching jerseys from every NBA squad with a technology called "NikeConnect."
The NBA’s big eSports push begins in May 2018
The line between eSports and traditional sports is blurring, and organizations like the National Basketball Association are looking to stay ahead of the curve. Seventeen teams from the NBA will be part of the upcoming 2K League, a competition it created in partnership with Take-Two Interactive, the developer of the popular NBA 2K series. And that league is going to have its first season next May, NBA 2K League Managing Director Brendan Donohue revealed to Engadget in a recent interview.
How Kevin Durant’s attempt to clap back at trolls backfired
What does an NBA champion and Finals MVP have in common with Taylor Swift? In the case of the Golden State Warriors' Kevin Durant, it's that internet trolls love calling them snakes. Swift earned that label last year after a feud with Kim Kardashian and husband, Kanye West; for Durant, that scorn came after he decided to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder to join a main Western Conference rival, the Warriors. Since that day, July 4th, 2016, his mentions have been overtaken by angry basketball fans calling him a cupcake, coward, sellout, traitor and, yes, a snake. That's right, a cupcake and a snake.
You'll need your phone to get into Miami Heat home games
You can't collect ticket stubs for Miami Heat home games anymore, because the team is shifting to mobile-only entry. Even if buy your ticket from American Airlines Arena's box office, you'll still have to present your phone at the entrance to get in. While other teams also have mobile ticketing, Heat is the the first to completely ditch paper tickets. A spokesperson said in a statement that the team decided to go mobile only after looking at figures and realizing that one in three audience member used a digital ticket last season anyway.
For 'NBA Live 18,' it's about bringing 'the magic' back
Long since its groundbreaking launch in 1995, EA's flagship basketball game has had a troubled run this decade, but NBA Live 18 shows that it may be able to turn things around. After missing last year entirely (following a hiatus between the 2010 and 2014 editions), its return is based on both revamped gameplay and a new story mode titled "The One." Each element takes aim at some of the best features its competition, NBA 2K, has refined over the last few years, while trying to bring back what producer Mike Mahar called "the magic" of previous games.
Zepp phone apps use AI to study your basketball shots
You may know Zepp for sports tracking sensors you can slap on your baseball bat or soccer ball, but its latest tracking involves little more than your phone and a good view of the action. Its game recording and training apps (Android, iOS) are adding a dash of AI technology (namely, computer vision) to analyze your baseball swings, golf swings and basketball shots. If your three-pointer throwing needs work, you just need to point your phone's camera at the court and start capturing. You can share the videos and performance data with others, too, in case you need to prove your skills to recruiters.
The Cavs and Warriors will have their own 'NBA 2K eLeague' teams
The inaugural season of the NBA's "2K eLeague," featuring eSports teams owned by NBA franchises, is looking more promising now than when it was announced in February. Today, the NBA revealed that 17 of its 30 teams will participate in the eSports competition, which it created in partnership with Take-Two Interactive (developer of the NBA2K series) and is scheduled to begin in 2018. Earlier this year, the league had said it only expected about 12 NBA teams to join the project, but clearly it managed to get many more of them interested before launch.
The Morning After: Wednesday, April 26th 2017
In case you missed it yesterday, one Google cofounder is making a flying (kinda) car, while the other has a secret blimp, Uber is having a pretty awful year (already), and there's a for-real tricorder. The makers of it reckon it's better than the Star Trek one. Bold claims.
March Madness is back in VR, but it will cost you
Last year, the NCAA streamed the Final Four and championship game in virtual reality for free as March Madness came to a close. For the 2017 tournament that's already in progress, the college sports governing body is teaming up with Turner Sports and CBS Sports to offer VR streaming of not only those final three games, but of the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 as well. Those two rounds begin this Thursday, March 23rd and run through the weekend.
After Math: Oh, balls
It was a stellar week for spheroids, both the physical and metaphorical varieties. NASA discovered seven new planets (three of which are habitable) just 40 light years away. Ants on golf balls are teaching scientists about insectoid navigation skills. Facebook wants to be a sports broadcaster and the NBA hopes that VR will help revolutionize the game. Numbers, because that's how we keep score.
The NBA hopes VR will expand its audience
This year's NBA All-Star Weekend wasn't just about the iconic Slam Dunk Contest or the riveting game between the best players from the Eastern and Western conferences. Yes, these were certainly the main attractions for attendees and viewers at home, but the event was also an opportunity for the NBA to showcase the ways in which technology will play a role in the future of the game. That future includes wearables, eSports and virtual reality, a medium whose immersive format the league says will help it reach wider audiences.
