The NBA and Turner Sports will expand further into the world of virtual reality when they provide a live VR stream in tandem with opening night matchup between champion Golden State Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans, scheduled for tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET on TNT.
Along with the live game presentation, viewers will also be able to view the Warriors ring ceremony in VR format on the Oracle Arena court prior to the game itself.
NBA and Turner Sports are providing the virtual reality experience in partnership with NextVR, a tech firm that specializes in on-demand and live VR.
They said viewers will be able to access the game and the pre-game ceremony in the format with by connecting a Samsung Gear VR headset (pictured) to the NextVR portal, which if located at the Oculus home app. The Samsung-made headset must be paired with a Samsung Note 4 or Galaxy S6 smartphone. More technical detail on tonight’s VR offering is available here.
The NBA experimented with VR last season when NextVR captured a Warriors game against the Denver Nuggets at Oracle Arena. Last season, the NBA also offered VR-enabled highlights of the NBA All-Star Game and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night.
TNT's is tipping off NBA's opening night at 8 p.m. ET with coverage of the Eastern Conference champ Cleveland Cavaliers visiting the Chicago Bulls.
