23-05-2025
NBA fans roasted ESPN's absurd 'virtual reality' replays during the playoffs
NBA fans roasted ESPN's absurd 'virtual reality' replays during the playoffs
CHET'S DUNK IN VIRTUAL REALITY 🤯🕹️
📺 InsightCast on ESPNews — 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!' — 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 — Kris Pursiainen (@krispursiainen) May 23, 2025
NBA Live 2004 looked better respectively — Kofie (@Kofie) May 23, 2025
Wanna know how many millions were wasted on this garbage and how many jobs this will ultimately cost ESPN — Blazer Banter (@blazerbanter) May 23, 2025
What is the point of this? — Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) May 23, 2025
Not the NBA Live 99 graphics — Jasmine (@JasmineLWatkins) May 23, 2025
Recession indicator, why y'all using PS2 graphics for something you just recorded in 4K — 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.
