The NBA will bring fans to the sidelines through Microsoft Teams

The official shooting of the NBA championship is just a few days away and the most famous American league in the world is thinking about how to deal with the theme of the presence of the fans: because of the coronavirus, the buildings where the games will be played - inside the "bubble" of Disneyworld in Orlando - they will be accessible only to players, professionals and a small number of journalists, but this does not mean that the NBA wants to give up having fans on the sidelines.

Taking a cue from the solutions adopted by European football teams, NBA announced that Microsoft Teams - the communication platform used also for group conference calls - will be used during the matches to invite 300 fans to watch the matches live. Fans, who will appear on giant screens near the field, will have the opportunity to interact with each other, further increasing the sensation of interactivity that will be perceived by the players.

Sara Zuckert, NBA manager of the next generation TV show, said the association is excited to present her new fan experience: "Our goal is to create a fun and engaging experience where fans can interact with each other and maintain a sense of community as we start the season again in these unique circumstances".

The new fan experience will use a recently released feature of Microsoft Teams called "Together mode" which uses AI technology to organize digital meetings - or, in this case, matches - in a shared background. For Microsoft, this mode will give the participants the feeling of sitting in the same room: unlike the classic "grid" that we are used to seeing in group chats, with the new system it will be possible to watch the whole group through a virtual "mirror" with a single background.

In addition, the NBA said that all spectators will be able to modify the visual effects of the arenas through virtual cheering: in fact, fans will be able to virtually cheer for their favorite team through the app and the NBA website, by sending animations and graphics which will then be projected onto the screens inside the building.

In these days of scrimmage that act as the second pre-season, the NBA has started testing new technologies that will officially go into action starting on July 30th, the date on which the run-up to the most complicated ring in history will start again.