When TNT color commentator Reggie Miller, seated courtside, donned a Virtual Reality headset while broadcasting a Warriors–Spurs playoff game this week, Basketball Twitter predictably lit up with questions and skepticism. “Isn’t the point of VR to have the feeling of being in the arena?” one viewer asked. Another opined: “Marveling at VR while *at the game* really rings hollow. There’s no way the VR can surpass the experience of actually being courtside.”
Miller’s stunt, of course, was blatant product placement. After all, the NBA, Turner Sports and Intel launched a new VR partnership earlier this season, airing seven games in VR during the regular season and at least 12 more during the playoffs.