NBA games in virtual reality have potential. Here’s what watching one
Jabari Young wearing the Oculus Quest 2 device.
Source: Jabari Young
Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka popped up from the team bench, and before I knew it, he was blocking my view. Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was close enough for me to see his Cole Haan shoes, and I saw a Lance Stephenson 3-pointer from an angle I’d never seen before.
That’s just some of my recent experience watching an NBA game while wearing a virtual reality headset.
The National Basketball Association is offering virtual courtside seats on Meta‘s $299 Oculus Quest 2 devices. The headsets were one of the most popular Christmas gifts in 2021, showing that people seem to be more willing than ever to give virtual reality a try. And businesses are trying to keep your eyeballs on their content by creating VR versions of their apps and games.
An Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headset and controllers, taken on September 28, 2020.
Phil Barker | Future | Getty Images
The NBA experience is free and available on Meta’s Horizon Venues platform, which is a free software download for the Oculus headset. People appear as digital avatars, sort of like cartoon versions of their real selves, and watch an NBA game from a courtside perspective. It’s not Jack Nicholson’s Los Angeles Lakers seat at Crypto.com Arena or Spike Lee’s seat at Madison Square Garden, but it almost replicates the real thing.
From a business perspective, the deal could give the NBA a new set of media rights, which is important as regional sports networks struggle.
Meanwhile, Meta — the company formerly known as Facebook — is using the partnership with sports providers including the NBA, WWE and Premier League to give people new reasons to try virtual reality.
Mark Zuckerberg’s company is making a $10 billion investment in the metaverse, a virtual world he believes will become the standard for social networking, gaming and even work.
Meta sent CNBC the Oculus 2 headset last month. I experienced the Jan. 10 NBA courtside game between the Celtics and Pacers. Here’s what you need to know.
The Celtics Jaylen Brown drives to the basket between the Pacers Jeremy Lamb (left) and Myles Turner (right) in a regular season NBA basketball game at TD Garden in Boston on Jan. 10. 2022.
Jim Davis | Boston Globe | Getty Images
The experience isn’t ‘trash’
First, you should know you’re prohibited from watching if you live in the market where an NBA game is being broadcast on TV. The NBA uses RSN feeds from its League Pass product, and local markets are subject to the same annoying restrictions you run into elsewhere.
Once you get in the game, you’ll instantly notice other avatars engaging in live discussions. The closeness of the action grabs your attention, too. It’s here that you get immersed in the experience, as it actually feels a lot like being in a courtside seat, right down to the engagement with nearby fans.
There are two levels in the digital room where you can watch the game. The first level is usually where the crowd watches while…
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