Get in the game like never before!
It’s the NBA All-Star Weekend and, this year, the NBA is allowing fans more access to their favorite athletes, by working with Google to create new virtual reality experiences for fans. One of the more interesting ideas that’s rolling out this weekend is called House of Legends, an episodic sports talk show hosted by retired NBA players such as James Worthy, Bruce Bowen, Chauncey Billups, John Starks and others, and presented in virtual reality via Google’s Daydream platform.
Fans will have the opportunity to virtually sit down with these NBA greats as they share stories from their careers and discuss league happenings and other topics of conversation. To get in on the fun, you’ll need a Daydream View and a Daydream-compatible phone, then it’s simply a matter of downloading the NBA VR app from the Google Play Store. Expect weekly episodes to pop up in the app over the remainder of the NBA season.
The NBA VR app will also be packed with highlights and other content available on demand. If you can’t make it down to New Orleans for the festivities in person, VR might just provide the next best experience.
This isn’t the first time the NBA has dipped it’s toes into the world of VR, as the Association has been incorporating VR experiences throughout the 2016-17 season. Through a partnership with NextVR, NBA League Pass subscribers have the option to live stream preselected games every week in 360-degree VR with either a Google Daydream or Samsung Gear VR headset. You get a court side seat for the game right by the scorer’s table, which is as good as any seat you’d find on StubHub. Again you need to be an NBA League Pass subscriber for access and local blackout restrictions do apply.
You can find more information along with the remaining schedule of games here, and you’ll need the NextVR app for either Oculus (Samsung Gear VR) or Google Play (Daydream) to buy your virtual seat for the game.
