John Wall and Marcin Gortat are Terrified of Virtual Reality

This season the NBA took a big technological leap forward by adding a weekly virtual reality broadcast of a live game in partnership with NextVR. It ain't cheap, as games require a $99 League Pass and a $99 Samsung VR headset (or $49 Google Daydream View), but if Sean Gregory's review for Time this past December is any indication, it's a whole new ballgame:

"I found myself way too invested in an early regular season game between two middling teams, though it was an entertaining show: New York's 7'3" phenom/freak-of-nature Kristaps Porzingis dropped 31 points in a 107-103 New York win. The headset tunes out external stimulation: the broadcast really places you courtside, providing close-up views of the players, refs, and fans. Porzingis' drive down the lane, and punishing left-handed finish, is much more vivid in VR. At one point, I thought Knicks center Kyle O'Quinn was going to fall on me.

"From the camera behind a basket, you can see a whole offensive play develop in front of you. It's catnip for hoops nerds, and explains why some sports teams are turning to VR for training their players. The NextVR broadcast has its own announcers, who share directional commands you don't typically hear on ESPN: look to your right to see a player set a screen, to your left to see a fight for a loose ball."

If you think the NBA in VR sounds lovely, you're in luck. The next broadcast is Valentine's Day, Raptors at the Bulls. What better way to say"I love you" than being immersed in the warm glow of Jonas Valanciunas's ass?

As a way to get the most out of the NBA, however, virtual reality isn't just for snuggle-bunnies. ESPN's Tom Haberstroh posted a highly entertaining story on Wednesday about how the Washington Wizards are the first team using VR as a tool to get better on the hardwood. It's rife with cool anecdotes, like the one where John Wall thought he was going to tumble into the afterworld.

"Safety is merely 8 feet in front of him, a distance the stressed Wall chooses to cover on tiptoes. He's about halfway there when someone nearby gives him an instruction: 'Turn and step off the plank.' Wall shakes his head. He won't do it.

After telling himself over and over that this can't possibly be real, he finally turns to his right, steps off the plank and plunges into the abyss below.

Then Wall peels the black virtual reality headset off of his face, relieved to rejoin the safety of the physical world as we know it."

And that VR mindfuck isn't half as fun as the one that finds seven-foot Marcin Gortat getting down on all fours to keep from falling into the abyss. The story also includes head coach Scott Brook's devotion to a (probably fake) yarn about a Vietnam vet who became more or less a scratch golfer without ever picking up a club, and a hangover simulation so players can see what playing after a late night of Hennessy at 1 Oak does to their game.

It's a cool piece about cutting-edge technology whose evangelists (Wizards majority owner Ted Leonsis is an investor) drip just enough snake oil to make one question its potential NBA efficacy. Go on now and walk the plank with Haberstroh your damn self.

[ESPN]