DALLAS — Have you ever dreamed of seeing yourself in the middle of an NBA game hitting stepback three-pointers like Luka Doncic? How about breaking down a defender like Kyrie Irving?
Well, with a new streaming experience through the NBA app, you will be able to. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver showed off the new feature at the All-Star game in Utah, using longtime NBA analyst Ahmad Rashad as an example.
Silver used the app to scan Rashad's body in a 360-degree, which then uploaded his physical features as an avatar that can be put into the place of players on a game's stream.
Watch the presentation here:
Rashad's avatar was put into the place of Talen Horton-Tucker on a clip where he throws down a one-handed tomahawk dunk. The crowd cheered as Rashad's digital avatar dunked on Lakers forward Damian Jones.
Here is the real-life clip of the dunk:
Silver said the app feature will allow users to insert themselves as players while streaming the game. So, in theory, you could play as – or alongside – Doncic in the Mavs uniform. Or any other player on the court for that matter.
This is just the latest of technology's latest advancements in the NBA world. Doncic, himself, launched Luka.AI in September, which is a slightly creepy but fascinating approach to engage with Mavs fans.
Luka's new metahuman character is placed primarily on TikTok. The artificial intelligence is augmented with neural network technologies and learns new behaviors in real time and interacts with other users.
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