NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had a Cupertino feel during his opening remarks on Friday, borrowing from Apple’s shock-and-awe presentation style to hint at the league’s future tech endeavors.
At the NBA Tech Summit ahead of the All-Star weekend, Silver revealed a prototype of an augmented jersey that fans could specialize by digitally changing the name and number on the back. On stage, he changed one jersey from Kemba Walker 15 to Steph Curry 30 to Michael Jordan 23.
As of now, the smart jerseys’ abilities are limited. Fans can’t change the team name or color and there doesn’t seem to be any kind of data being transmitted between the app and jersey beyond communicating the name and number changes.
However, fans will be able to use their smartphones to change the names and numbers in real time—and the functionality of that could certainly be advanced over time. Perhaps the NBA’s real-time player-tracking data and the expansion of high-speed 5G networks might find a place in future jerseys.
One could see how electronic signage on jerseys might eventually expand into advertising as well. The league already lets teams sell ad space on their jerseys. Perhaps one day it might digitize that functionality on jerseys in the same way as it does on the digital screens of arenas.
Adam Silver unveils the NBA jersey of the future. pic.twitter.com/h5GePOwOjx
— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2019
However, people on social media were quick to question the point of the technology and express concern that it could be used maliciously by hackers.
The NBA introduced technology to instantly change the name on Jerseys. We can see hackers having fun with that. https://t.co/fNcWaBVNKd via @BleacherReport
— PSG_SeattleFanClub (@PSG_Seattle) February 15, 2019
Others wondered what additional benefits might come from jersey technology if the league were to continue investing in making them smart.
Yes and… please put tech investment into jerseys that have sensors that can detect fouls. That could remove the flopping problem in the NBA overnight. https://t.co/9mHcLOyroR
—
Jonathan Zazove (@jzazove) February 15, 2019
Silver further laid out what he thought might be for a largely customizable and high-tech experience 20 years from now. Among other technologies teased by the commissioner were virtual reality, biometric ticketing with facial recognition, and hologram mascots, according to Sports Illustrated.