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We’re One Step Closer to the NBA Becoming NBA Jam

Kyle Pagan

By Kyle Pagan

Published:

The NBA is unveiling a state-of-the-art LED court at All-Star Weekend this year. Now you can see a trail of fire behind Tyrese Maxey while he’s on the fast break. If we can get a “He’s heating up!” or “Boom-Shakalaka!” on the soundtrack, NBA Jam might finally become a reality:

It’s a great concept for fans, but for the players though? Why the hell would they want to play on a giant Lite Brite? We can’t even keep Joel Embiid and half the league healthy on wood. Now we’re going to make them play on something more fragile than the glass bridge in Squid Game?

Apparently FIBA had their U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in 2023 play on this court and passed a rule in 2022 that all FIBA competitions were approved to play on the glass floor going forward. So NBA players might as well get used to them:

YouTube video

Here’s a really interesting video on how the process comes together with over 16 million LEDs. Apparently it’s safe, but that doesn’t mean I’m not nervous. If LeBron goes down on Sunday, Stephen A. Smith will be yelling about LEDs, PEDs, and every kind of EDs in the book. It’s a cool concept, but if someone slips on the LED State Farm logo, Jake’s gonna be looking for work.

I’m microdosing before the Slam Dunk contest. That’s a guarantee. And if the NBA brings this court to every arena the entire upper bowl is going to be looking like this:

At least it’ll be easier to stomach your favorite player sitting out.

Kyle Pagan
Kyle Pagan

Kyle writes blog posts and does Man on the Street-style videos all around Philadelphia. He graduated from Temple University (a basketball school) in 2015. contact: k.pagan@sportradar.com

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