The league announced yesterday that a portion of the All-Star weekend events in Indianapolis, including the entire All-Star Saturday Night lineup, will be hosted on a cutting-edge full video LED court, to be set up at Lucas Oil Stadium.
This means that the skills competition, three-point contest, slam dunk competition, and the showdown between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu will all occur on the LED court on February 17, along with the celebrity game on February 16. However, the actual All-Star Game on February 18 will remain on a standard wooden court.
According to Carlton Myers, an NBA senior vice-president overseeing live production and entertainment, the LED court provides more flexibility for interactive and reactive graphics, allowing for dynamic floor designs and colors that respond to on-court action.
The LED court, developed by the German company ASB GlassFloor and previously used in FIBA events, has been approved for top-tier competitions since 2022. While the league didn’t disclose the exact cost of the court, it’s acknowledged to be more expensive than traditional wooden surfaces.
The NBA has been exploring the use of this technology for some time, with NBA players’ association representative Andre Iguodala and NBA executive vice-president for basketball operations Joe Dumars testing the court last week for performance and safety.
The court consists of two layers of laminated safety glass, each five millimeters thick, with opaque surfaces and LED panels providing all designs. Each event during the All-Star weekend will have a unique court design, showcasing real-time game stats, replays, video content, and player tracking animations.
While the LED court offers a different aesthetic, it plays similarly to wood in terms of bounce and feel, as confirmed by Dumars.