The NBA is increasingly becoming a video game

Fields with designs that look like they come straight out of a next-gen console, futuristic video game-style highlights, and now even PlayStation or Xbox graphics on live TV. If the NBA's trend of embracing technological progress is nothing new, as is the case with its siblings in football (NFL) and baseball (MLB), something seems to have changed recently. In a sense, at least in the public's eye, there has been a reversal of roles: it is no longer video games chasing the realism of basketball, but basketball drawing inspiration from its digital imitations. Many of us had this thought watching this year's early games on City Edition courts in the NBA Cup, or seeing the non-stop action highlights (see for yourself) of a recent game between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers. Following the announcement of the partnership between TNT Sports and NBA 2K25—which in the coming weeks will offer an unprecedented blend of real and virtual basketball—this has moved from perception to an actual merger.

The project involves broadcasting a handful of games—namely, the quarterfinals and semifinals of the NBA Cup (the group stage of which just concluded)—using graphics drawn from the NBA 2K video game. This collaboration confirms the deepening integration between sports and digital entertainment and highlights the strong bond between the league and NBA 2K, as well as the new avenues being explored by major U.S. sports leagues in search of innovative formats. It often appeals to younger audiences accustomed to the aesthetics of video games.

NBA 2K25 DataCast

The synergy between the broadcaster TNT Sports (part of the Warner Bros. Discovery network), the video game company NBA 2K (a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software), and the London-based firm Genius Sports (specializing in advanced data and technologies) has been unveiled under the name NBA 2K25 DataCast. According to the official Warner Bros. press release and the first images circulating online, the features distinguishing this innovation draw from typical video game elements, such as the famous Shot Meter (measuring shot timing and accuracy) and 2K Badges (players' specific skills and tendencies). Additionally, “thanks to the GeniusIQ platform,” the release states, “viewers will also gain access to advanced statistics like running speed, distance covered, and shot probability, offering an immersive and interactive viewing experience.”

The broadcast will be available as an alternative to the traditional viewing mode and will be offered nationally on the truTV and Max schedules. The goal is clear: to attract a young, digitally savvy audience passionate about video games. To this end, the choice of technologies is crucial: real-time athlete tracking, graphic overlays, and innovative camera angles aim to make these games a hybrid experience, closely resembling matches played on gaming consoles. This has immediately sparked debate on social media: beyond those joking about potential benefits (“So can we skip ads during breaks?”, quipped one user on X), many view the idea as an unnecessary gimmick or an excessive pursuit of artificiality. For the NBA, however, this experiment represents a step toward bringing its product closer to its virtual counterpart, which is immensely popular among fans of both worlds.

An Expanding Trend

The NBA's example is not an isolated case in the sports landscape. Several leagues—especially in the U.S., but not exclusively—are experimenting with new ways to engage fans, often through collaborations with the world of video games or animation. The NFL, for instance, recently broadcast a game set in Springfield, the fictional universe of The Simpsons, featuring Bart and Homer as protagonists. Similarly, the NFL's Toy Story Funday Football recreated an entire game in real-time with the aesthetic of Pixar’s famous series, or the NFL simulcasting on Nikelodeon. Even in European football, some have timidly taken their first steps in this direction. During Euro2024 last summer, Polish broadcaster TVP Sport introduced video game-inspired graphics like real-time radar and automatic player recognition systems, bringing the viewer experience closer to EA Sports FC, while the Messi Cam during the Inter Miami matches raised more than an eyebrow. With some patience, these Americanisms will likely become more common in Europe too.

Finally, themed events are becoming increasingly common. For instance, MLB organizes Star Wars-themed nights, while the NBA has collaborated with Disney for Dunk the Halls, a Christmas broadcast featuring players alongside Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. These initiatives are obviously born from the commercial strategies of their partners, but they resonate with a growing need shared across leagues worldwide in a hyper-technological context and a highly fragmented market. Keeping up with the times is a necessary prerequisite for growth. Embracing evolution, in the long run, becomes a recipe for maintaining relevance.

Thus, we’ve moved past the grand debate of the past—whether video games could ever faithfully reproduce the complexity and realism of sports—toward an opposite conceptual logic. As noted, today, it is sports that seem to be chasing video games, integrating their aesthetics, dynamics, and distinctive elements. This paradigm shift reflects, among other things, technological progress that has exceeded expectations. Video games like NBA 2K have reached a level that lays the groundwork for a spontaneous fusion of the two worlds. And, as always with experiments, it hardly matters if the debut is not a success in the eyes of the public. The NBA, alongside the NFL and other perpetually forward-thinking entities, is charting a path that other leagues will follow. The boundary between sports and entertainment, in short, will become increasingly thin—and perhaps, in the not-too-distant future, it will be normal to wonder whether we are watching a game or playing it.