Before the start of the COVID-19 health crisis in 2020, tens of thousands of NBA fans would rush into basketball arenas on a daily basis in order to watch their favorite team and players compete for a chance to qualify for the playoffs and even a chance to win the coveted NBA championship. However, COVID-19 prevented fans from being able to walk safely into arenas to watch basketball games and drastically altered how teams were able to play the game of basketball as well.
Because of the drastic changes that sports teams were forced to make in order to protect both their fans as well as their players from contracting as well as spreading COVID, they, along with the NBA, had to adapt to balancing out how to allow their fans to watch NBA games in a safe way as well as figure out how to protect their athletes from spreading COVID among one another and with their loved ones.
One of the ways that the NBA ensured that their players would be able to continue to play safely during the COVID-19 pandemic was by introducing the concept of a “bubble.” The “bubble” would be a location where the players ended up quarantining for 14 days prior to being able to play their games. In the bubble, the NBA players would be staying at their respective team hotels, and would be frequently checked on to make sure that they were only in contact with people that were permitted to be in the bubble.
Oura Rings
The NBA also implemented the use of some interesting technology in order to ensure the safety of the players, coaches and staff. Specifically, it partnered with the brand Oura to provide smart rings that are capable of “measuring body pulse, activity, heart rate, and skin temperature” (Business Insider). This allowed players as well as teams to have a better understanding of players’ health statuses as the NBA regularly monitored the health of the players to ensure that the spread of COVID-19 would be kept at a minimum.
An Enhanced Fan-Viewing Experience
Because of the pandemic, it was not safe for tens of thousands of fans to gather into an indoor arena to watch a NBA game because that would likely spur the spread of COVID-19 to different places and populations much more rapidly. In the NBA bubble games, there were no fans sitting in the seats to watch the players. Rather, there was only virtual crowd noise used throughout the games. Taking this into thought, the NBA utilized Microsoft Teams’ “Together Mode” in order to show fans joining in on the video boards at the NBA bubble arenas in Orlando to watch in order to be able to bring the fan experience to the players, which they would have been severely lacking in the NBA bubble because of the restrictions on fans to watch the games in-person.
Conclusion
Because of how the NBA was able to adapt to the drastic changes that COVID-19 had made to society, it was able to continue its season under those changes thanks to technology that we would have never would be used under the label of ‘sports,’ showing a mere example of how much technology has an impact on our lives as well as how it is such a useful tool that we can utilize in certain scenarios.
Cited Sources
- Eadicicco, Lisa. “The NBA Bubble Has Rolled out Some Wild Technology to Help Keep Players, Coaches, and Staff COVID-Free – Including a $300 Smart Ring That Can Monitor Biometric Data.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 26 Aug. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/nba-bubble-oura-smart-ring-used-by-quarter-of-campus-2020-8.
- Golliver, Ben. “Inside the NBA’s Health Plan to Safely Hold Games at Disney World Bubble.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 17 June 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/06/17/inside-nbas-health-plan-safely-hold-games-disney-world-bubble/.