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Computers being used in basketball can be extremely helpful for players and coaches. By using computers in the game of basketball, players are able to understand the game better. “ The game of basketball has changed drastically since its inception over 125 years ago. Instant replay has become an integral part to almost every sport, sometimes even resulting in a call that changes the outcome of the game.” (Noah How has sports technology changed basketball?)
Spatial Computing allows for ongoing development for players and their training in the game. Spatial computing is a technology that combines digital and physical date to create an immersive experience where users can interact with computers in a natural way. “Coaches can harness the power of immersive VR simulations to create lifelike practice scenarios where players can refine their skills, enhance their spatial awareness, and make split-second decisions in a realistic environment.”(Martinez The future of Basketball: How Spatial Computing is revolutionizing the game) These simulations that are presented to the players allow them to be in game-like situations, this allows the players to be able to be in high-pressure movements and allow the mental capacity of the players to be able to grow. There are wearable devices that can be put into equipment or on the player, by using these devices coaches are able to see their patterns in which they move in, shooting mechanics, and defensive strategies. This approach to the game gives coaches the best opportunity to maximize their players and the teams efficiency. “It is crystal clear that the unleashing of advanced digital technologies such as AI and cloud computing will continue to change how teams, players, and fans participate in the evolving game of basketball, once simply played with a single ball, two hoops, and high hustle players.”(Rooney The NBA’s digital transformation is a game-changer)
There are apps that you can download right on your phone that can capture and help improve your game when you are by yourself. “HomeCourt is game-changing technology that’s turning amateur basketball players into sharp shooters. It’s an app that launched just last year using high-tech computer vision and machine learning to improve a player’s shooting skills.”(Chemi How artificial intelligence is making better basketball shooters, with just your iphone). This app has the ability to figure out where the basket is, who the person is, where the three point line is, and how many shots you take and if they make or miss. Along with all these things this app can track when getting into more detail this app could track launch angle, reaction time, vertical jump, and leg angle. All of these things are important for the game of basketball. The most important thing when shooting a basketball is how high or low you shoot. This is called the arc on your shot. This app can also track that and you can compare it to other people, even NBA stars to see how closely related they are. This app has brought a huge amount of success amongst themselves, it tracks about 2 million shots per month that’s close to 14 million shots a year.
“The digital era is dramatically transforming basketball fan engagement through groundbreaking initiatives like Sports X Immersive Basketball (IBX). Moreover, immersive technology is becoming more accessible, with products like Meta’s Stadium and Horizon Worlds, offering free interactive and social VR experiences.” (Simms Basketball in the digital era: The future of fan engagement). This allows fans to be able to control the way they are watching the game. Such as highlighting a player, changing the camera angle, controlling playbacks, and watching the plays unfold from multiple different perspectives. Using a virtual reality headset is something that has been going through many different tests to make this an option for fans. The first demonstration was in 2023, the people with headsets on were at the Toronto Raptors practice court. The headset created the illusion that there was a game going on, showing players passing, shooting, and dribbling. When this becomes fully functioning the game of basketball is going to make a huge jump for a more enjoyable experience for fans and will bring in more audiences.
Gambling is something that is huge in the United States of America, it is something that people love to do and it makes them feel connected to the game. When betting on basketball a fan is allowed to pick any player, what they think they will do, and then they get to sit back and enjoy the game. It is a way to bring fans into the game where they are having the adrenaline rush that you would feel if you were in the stadium. “Sportradar estimates the NBA’s global audience is 2 billion, though only about half of those fans watch entire games, highlighting the need to tailor NBA betting technology to match player- and highlight-focused viewer habits.”(Schaefer Sportradar debuting new digital products around start of NBA season). Virtualized Live Match Tracker is some of the tools that they will use, it uses computer vision and NBA data to create 3D customizable game visuals. 4Sight Streaming is the next tool this overlays animated insights from NBA data to help betters make informed decisions during games. NBA Advanced Visuals will leverage real-time skeletal data to create interactive 3D animations and heat maps, offering player performance metrics, such as shooting probabilities from various court areas. It uses 29 skeletal points per player to predict outcomes with greater accuracy and enhance storytelling. Bettors can control angles and add interactive features like emojis, making for a more engaging betting experience.
Scouting and recruiting is something that used to be a very time-consuming process that made coaches manually look at the player, their stats, and find film on them. Computers now play a huge role making everything easier. This is something that I have experienced personally. When coming to Wilkes and trying to play basketball, I simply collected film from my highschool games and put them into one video and sent them to the coach and he was able to watch the film and decide if I am going to be able to help the team out and in my case I was. One of the things it allows coaches to see that they normally wouldn’t is analyzing player statistics. It is used to analyze data and provide information that covers the players strengths and weaknesses. The next tool is predicting player performances, based on the history collected that contains every stat on the player, computers allow for a prediction for how the athlete will play in their next game. (Blackwood The Future of Scouting: How Ai is Reshaping Sports Recruitment Strategies – TeamScaler).
Overall technology is something that has evolved so much throughout the years and will continue to get bigger and better as we go on. In the game of basketball computers play a huge part in everything that you typically wouldn’t see or think about normally. It has a big role in providing information for players to help them improve their game, coaches to help their team and be able to scout other teams and players, and it brings a ton of fans into the game because they have the ability to be more engaged in what’s going on. The tools that have been developed are very advanced even for players who are just starting to play. The apps that are provided on phones allow for new players to improve their game and give them confidence. The tools for the NBA players allow them to see what they are doing and can see their decisions that they have made in the game. This gives them a chance to improve their mental process for games that are upcoming. The importance of technology in basketball is something that will continue to grow and it will be highly beneficial in the future of the game.
Sources
Blackwood, Michael. “The Future of Scouting: How Ai Is Reshaping Sports Recruitment Strategies – TeamScaler.” TeamScaler Jobs, 1 Sept. 2023, www.teamscaler.co/blog/the-future-of-scouting-how-ai-is-reshaping-sports-recruitment-strategies.
Chemi, Eric. “How Artificial Intelligence Is Making Better Basketball Shooters, with Just Your Iphone.” CNBC, CNBC, 17 Apr. 2019, www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/04/17/how-artificial-intelligence-is-making-better-basketball-shooters-with-just-your-iphone.html.
Martinez, Joseph N. “The Future of Basketball: How Spatial Computing Is Revolutionizing the Game.” LinkedIn, 31 Mar. 2024, www.linkedin.com/pulse/future-basketball-how-spatial-computing-game-joseph-n-martinez-t1slc#:~:text=Beyond%20player%20development%20and%20strategy,they%20escalate%20into%20serious%20issues.
Simms, R. “Basketball in the Digital Era: The Future of Fan Engagement.” Celtics Life, Blogger, 19 July 2024, www.celticslife.com/2024/07/basketball-in-digital-era-future-of-fan.html?m=1#:~:text=The%20digital%20era%20is%20dramatically,interactive%20and%20social%20VR%20experiences.
Rooney, Paula. “The NBA’s Digital Transformation Is a Game-Changer.” CIO, 7 June 2023, www.cio.com/article/481600/the-nbas-digital-transformation-is-a-game-changer.html?amp=1.
Schaefer, Rob. “Sportradar Debuting New Digital Products around Start of NBA Season.” Sportradar Set to Debut New Technology Products around Beginning of NBA Season, Sports Business Journal, 22 Oct. 2024, www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/10/22/nba-sportradar-new-digital-products.