National Basketball Association

"Follow My Lead" Takes the NBA Finals To New Heights

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

image courtesy of the NBA

With an Assist from Virtual Reality, Watching Lebron was Different Experience

As I walked out of Grand Central Terminal in the heart of Manhattan on the heels of the 15th anniversary of the worst day of my lifetime and in the midst of the worst political race of all-time, I thought it to be the perfect day to experience some sort of augmented reality.

Truth be be told I’ve avoided all aspects of virtual reality to this point for one reason. The reality was (ironically) that I needed the real… I needed that “wow” factor. I never “got” it. I needed to be made a believer and the NBA wanted to help me. So after working my way downstairs at the NBA Store in mid town, I sat down with assistance of the capable hands of the NBA and Oculus representatives and felt the Oculus headset get pulled over my eyes. Friend’s honor, or as my friends and I like to say “with 100% truth” I was immediately, and quite literally, transported back to this past June witnessing history. In fact, I was zipped across the country so fast to the (fresh?) waters on San Francisco’s Mission Bay right outside the Chase Center. I could almost taste the liquor from oysters that the fishermen were attempting to pull while holding an ice-cold Black Hammer lager in the proverbial paper bag.

Once inside the arena I felt the intensity of what was at stake from the selected swivel chair I sat in set beside the rack of large-sized Knicks sweatpants over my shoulder in the store that at that moment seemed 3000 miles away. Once I heard the voice of Michael B. Jordan, or as you know him Wallace from the Wire, I found myself totally and completely hooked on what I was experiencing.

Follow My Lead: The Story of the NBA Finals, is a joint effort between Oculus and the NBA produced by m ss ng p eces (yes its spelled correctly) and it tells the story of Lebron James leading the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Golden State Warriors in the most recent edition of the NBA Finals. It was done so in a way that I had never seen before – through virtual reality- and it’s an experience you can see and feel for yourself tomorrow at the NBA store as well and something I can’t recommend it enough.

Believe me, it’s worth it.

“From a story-telling perspective I’m pretty sure that we’ve cracked something new here as far as a format and I think that’s where we are in the timeline of VR,” Ari Kuschnir, Founder and Executive Producer of m ss ng p eces (yes the spelling is accurate) said to me afterwards. “We’re still trying to figure out what works and what people will buy a headset for and come back for.”

As someone who has experienced basketball at every possible level in almost every way from playing and coaching to writing and scouting this experience was very much transcendent for me. The challenge to make the main character in sports seem even that more super human is an impossible undertaking. But, through the power of the VR experience Kuschnir’s production team was able to perfectly leverage Oculus in a way that made Lebron’s performance, one that will already go down in sports history, seem that much more prodigious. The way the technology ascended the footage, especially the behind the backboard cameras that gave you a glimpse of what it FELT like at the rim at the NBA Finals Game 7 level, combined with James’ sense of the moment, elevated the game in the same manner that NFL Films did making you feel the impact of tackles near the sidelines in the 1960s. You literally felt the greatness of Lebron’s dunks and countless blocks of Steph Curry floaters in the same way you did with the sacks of Lawrence Taylor and the touchdown’s from Franco Harris.

That impact is sure to grow the game through engagement, which is the number one goal from the league’s perspective in terms of business.

“The NBA broadcasts to 215 countries worldwide,” said Jeff Marsilio, Vice President, Global Media Distribution at the NBA. “When you multiply that by the hundreds of millions of fans around the world who had never even attended a sporting event just because of logistic reasons because there isn’t an arena nearby this has the potential and promise of this of this can be transformative.”

Transformative through their players making the biggest plays on the game’s biggest stage with an assist of the world’s best technology. That’s the recipe of success as the world shifts away from television and cord cutting to a more selective approach to consuming content. At least that’s the hope from the partnership, something that continues to be built out as we speak. It’s a big-time win for Facebook, who acquired Oculus in 201X4and has been watching Twitter try to capture the streaming space this past year. Twitter has been focused on the live event and kicks off its live stream partnership with the NFL this coming Thursday, giving Oculus even more reason to tout this project with an assist from the NBA.

“One of few things in the world that people still want to experience live is sports,” Eugene Wei, Head of Video at Oculus told me. “VR is going to be great for that. One, because the sense of presence in being there is already engaging and you pair that with being there with other people live experiencing something it’s going to be amazing.”

I can’t tell you enough how amazing this story was told. It’s game changing. Somehow this production elevated Lebron at the hight of his powers and for that it’s worth your time. We all know Lebron was great, we all saw his quest but through Oculus the series FELT completely different. It was powerful, it was intense…it was different. That’s the point.

“For me the moment where it all got brought home was before Game 7 when the players are entering the arena and Lebron passes you,” says Marsilio. “You get the sense that you’re there, you get the sense of his fierce determination there’s a sense of anxiety and anticipation around you with the crowd cheering and I don’t think you get that sense of emotional impact in another medium.”

It’s a medium worth getting used to, which in this day and age is far from a bad thing.