NBA fans roasted ESPN's absurd 'virtual reality' replays during the playoffs
CHET'S DUNK IN VIRTUAL REALITY 🤯🕹️
📺 InsightCast on ESPNews pic.twitter.com/7jI0Q9kMDw — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 23, 2025
ESPN is trying out some new technology for its broadcast of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals.
There are some occasionally very cool advances in tech that can enhance the viewer experience when watching sports. A couple years ago, I tried watching an NBA game through a Meta virtual reality headset and it was mildly enjoyable.
Earlier this year, USA TODAY wrote about how Dan Orlovsky brought virtual reality analysis to the masses for the NFL. ESPN's Tim Legler successfully used VR for ESPN's InsightCast. Recently, former NHL player PK Subban tried something similar for his hockey analysis.
This could work for pregame or postgame analysis, especially when it incorporates shot charts or advanced stats. But it simply doesn't work as a replay:
But ESPN's latest effort is, which you can watch above, is not nearly as impressive and fans were unimpressed.
Here are more details about the replays from Tim Corrigan, who is the ESPN Senior Vice President of Sports Production (via ESPN Press Room):
"Beyond Sports is going to provide virtual replace literally from any angle you can imagine based on what the action was, what it looked like. And we'll go into this environment with the Avatars. The Avatars will match the uniforms they're wearing, the court they're playing on. It's just kind of an insight into the future of what this might all look like. [...]
Again, that's going to be all new to a live broadcast and the ability to turn these things around like the virtual replays could be the first replay in a sequence of what we're doing on this broadcast. These are ways it's going to look and feel different than the main broadcast.
Vivid Arc is a company, again, we're tying them and their Avatars and what everything looks like from what the players are wearing, which will match with what they're wearing in the game and the courts they're playing on and everything."
It sounds nice in theory, but here is the thing: This isn't even technically virtual reality, it's just 3D. It isn't interactive without using a headset. It's just boring.
More: MLB hyped up a video game-like replay view from the Tokyo Dome and fans justifiably hated it
I like basketball, but I wish it looked like it was generated in MS paint. I just wish ESPN had an option for viewers like me. — Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) May 23, 2025
'What if I told you that you could spend a bunch of money to generate the worst possible graphics you could ever produce and add nothing to the coverage?'
ESPN: 'Sold!' https://t.co/yvKUfQHDVA — Daman Rangoola (@damanr) May 23, 2025
Nobody is gaining anything from this
You don't learn anything, you arguably understand less about the play, and it doesn't even look cool
'We can so we probably should, right?' is how we got here https://t.co/vNF2RKXazG — Kris Pursiainen (@krispursiainen) May 23, 2025
NBA Live 2004 looked better respectively https://t.co/HWViTIufWf — Kofie (@Kofie) May 23, 2025
Wanna know how many millions were wasted on this garbage and how many jobs this will ultimately cost ESPN https://t.co/Ip1afbAI0w — Blazer Banter (@blazerbanter) May 23, 2025
What is the point of this? https://t.co/sQVOA1NVt6 — Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) May 23, 2025
Not the NBA Live 99 graphics https://t.co/H8Q5Rv6jvz — Jasmine (@JasmineLWatkins) May 23, 2025
Recession indicator, why y'all using PS2 graphics for something you just recorded in 4K https://t.co/yziNIgcTaL — Tristan (@AyoTristan) May 23, 2025
As you can see, fans all seemed to agree with each other that this highlight of a Chet Holmgren dunk would have looked far cooler if it were just a replay of him putting the ball in the basket.
There is clearly an effort for ESPN and others to push for VR on the telecast, but fans don't want it to replace highlights. The technology just isn't there quite yet, even if it may get there eventually.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
26 minutes ago
- New York Post
Lakers' bubble championship will have an asterisk ‘forever': Daryl Morey
For a half-decade now, online trolls and critics have ripped the Lakers' 2020 championship as a phony, 'Mickey Mouse' NBA title. Daryl Morey isn't so sure about its legitimacy either. In an interview with The Athletic, the 76ers' president of basketball operations said there are plenty of doubters who don't think it was a 'genuine championship' with the bizarre circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 'Had the Rockets won the title, I absolutely would have celebrated it as legitimate, knowing the immense effort and resilience required,' Morey told the outlet. 'Yet, everyone I speak to around the league privately agrees that it doesn't truly hold up as a genuine championship.' President of basketball operations Daryl Morey looks on during a press conference at the Seventy Sixers Practice Facility on February 15, 2022 in Camden, New Jersey. Getty Images Morey told the outlet that the championship may never be looked at as on the same level as a regular NBA title. 'Perhaps the lasting legacy of the NBA bubble is that the NBA should be proud of its leadership at both the beginning and end of the pandemic, even though the champion will forever be marked by an asterisk.' With no fans in the stands and no travel in the Orlando bubble, LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the Lakers to their 17th title in franchise history. Los Angeles defeated the Heat in six games in the Finals. Some have posited that the veteran Lakers had an advantage over other teams inside the bubble with the aging James and injury-prone Davis. LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts with his MVP trophy and Finals trophy after winning the 2020 NBA Championship over the Miami Heat in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Getty Images The championship was particularly important for James, who was named NBA Finals MVP en route to his fourth title. Morey's Rockets lost to the Lakers in the second round in the bubble in a season that ended up being his last in Houston. The longtime NBA executive would step down from the Rockets in October 2020 before taking the job in Philadelphia less than a month later. Morey's teams have made the playoffs in 14 out of 18 seasons, but he's yet to get that elusive NBA championship.
USA Today
26 minutes ago
- USA Today
What's an NBA Exhibit 10 contract? Breaking down Malevy Leons' Thunder deal
While the Oklahoma City Thunder technically added to their roster with Malevy Leons, they didn't use their vacant two-way spot to sign him. Instead, the NBA champion brought the 25-year-old back for a second season with an Exhibit 10 deal. Most NBA fans understand the 15 standard roster spots and the three two-way deals. Not so much with Exhibit 10 contracts. They only get brought up in the offseason and training camp. Teams can carry 21 players in the offseason, which means a handful of Exhibit 10 players can be on the roster at the same time before the regular season starts. So what exactly is the Exhibit 10 deal that Leons signed? It's a one-year, non-guaranteed agreement. It was introduced in the 2017 CBA. In most cases, teams utilize it to add to their training camp rosters and allow undrafted rookies and fringe NBA players they're interested in a chance to show out in the preseason. Once training camp ends, Exhibit 10 players must either get signed to a two-way deal or be sent to the G League affiliate. In Leons' case, the Thunder likely signed him to retain his G League rights. He spent most of last season on the G League's OKC Blue after he went undrafted out of Bradley. He was also with their Summer League squad this offseason. Once Leons reaches 60 days on the Blue, he'll receive around a $75,000 bonus because of his Exhibit 10 deal. This encourages players to remain with their NBA franchise instead of electing to go play overseas or for another team if they aren't converted to a two-way deal after training camp. Odds are, Leons won't be the only Thunder player on an Exhibit 10 deal when their 2025-26 training camp starts in a couple of months. Expect them to add other players who are possible two-way candidates. Brooks Barnhizer and Branden Carlson are OKC's two two-way players.
USA Today
26 minutes ago
- USA Today
Why Derrick White wants to be like fellow Celtic Payton Pritchard this offseason
Despite all the question marks surrounding the Boston Celtics ahead of the 2025-26 season, guard Derrick White isn't one of them. The 2024 NBA champion is fresh off one of the best years of his career, yet he still understands that there are a few facets of his game that need refining. For help, he wants to look to Celtics teammate and reigning Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard. On the first episode of White's new podcast, "White Noise," the Colorado native stressed that summer is the perfect time for improving — something he hopes to do regardless of how strong his last season with the C's was. "It's a big summer for me to get better and work on a lot of the things I got to work on, and I'm excited to get better," White emphasized. "And I'm excited for the next year." One craft White aims to hone is his ball handling, which is an area he knows Pritchard excels in based on all the videos of him dribbling in the garage like a madman. "I want to get my Payton Pritchard bag up," White said with a smile. "P's unbelievable...I'm going to have to get in the garage soon. I don't know if I got it like P like that, but I'm working, P." Although the Celtics' 2024-25 campaign went awry, White and Pritchard were reliable contributors. They both played in over 75 regular season games and notched career-highs on the same night, as White dropped 41 points during a win in early March over the Portland Trail Blazers while Pritchard recorded 43. With Celtics star Jayson Tatum out indefinitely next season, White and Pritchard will be more valuable to Boston than ever. Whether or not they can carry the Celtics alongside star Jaylen Brown remains to be seen, but there's no doubt they'll be ready to go when October arrives. Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on: Spotify: iTunes: YouTube:
