Major trends in basketball

Tracking

Collecting data on accurate shots, misses and total number of shots taken – a new development of Davyeon Ross and Bruce Ianni is a bracelet with a built-in sensor that is worn on the wrist, another sensor is attached to the basketball hoop net, all data is collected in a mobile application that tracks shots and analyzes the results.

The Gatorade brand has developed a mechanism to monitor basketball players’ dehydration. A “smart” bottle cap and a microchip on the athlete’s strap detect their condition in real time. After each sip of water and physical activity performed, data on the degree of dehydration is processed by a special program.

The NBA partnered with Disney, STATS, Caltech and Queensland University of Technology in the 2015/2016 season to develop software that allows every network user to take a detailed look at any game moment, much like a coach drawing his team’s next strategy on the board during a timeout.

More impressions

The NBA club Cleveland Cavaliers and Quince Imaging Inc. put on a 3D show by turning the home court of Quiken Loans Arena into a giant 3D projection screen during Game 3 of the 2015/2016 Finals Series between the home team and Golden State Warriors.

The NBA and Verizon have launched live matchups through a mobile app. What’s more, fans can slice and paste game footage themselves and post it immediately to their social media pages.

Thanks to Intel, the Eastern and Western Conferences, as well as the NBA Finals, continue to feature full 360° video replays. It was first used in the 2012 Olympics and has been used extensively by the National Basketball Association since 2014. Such high-tech replays are also available on the league’s official website, its mobile app and various social media platforms.

The NBA club Atlanta Hawks did something in 2015 that no one had ever done before – they started selling tickets via Twitter, though in limited quantities. With just the click of a button, fans were able to select a ticket and pay by credit card without leaving their account.

More service

The NBA club, the Detroit Pistons, became the first team to implement queue reduction technology this spring. Waiting in lines, whether to the bathroom or for a soda, recognized among fans as the biggest problem when attending sporting events, seems to have found a solution. Thanks to the scientific development of WaitTime, real-time information is provided on fan progress throughout the arena location. For Pistons fans, there are 30 monitors in the stands giving out all the necessary information, and you can also learn about the progression of the lines through the Pistons Mobile app.

More events

For the second time in March 2016, the NBA club Atlanta Hawks are hosting Tinder Swipe Right Night 2.0, a promotional party for the Tinder mobile dating app. Although the 2014/2015 season was a huge success for the Atlanta team, attendance at Phillips Arena’s home arena was very low, ranking 20th in the entire league. The local management decided to combat this misunderstanding by holding as many different promotional nights as possible.

VR

Virtual reality is used by the NBA club Sacramento Kings to attract investors and fans – creating the effect of a virtual presence anywhere in the home arena. The NHL club Washington Capitals is offering fans a virtual ride on the ice with the team’s players. NFL teams have picked up the novelty as well.