National Basketball Association

The age of robot superathletes is nigh

Published Feb. 27, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

Nick Schwartz

You often hear jokes that emotionless and ultra-consistent athletes like Kawhi Leonard are more machine than man, but if an NBA team actually did sign a robot to play small forward, it would probably look something like Handle - the latest creation from Boston Dynamics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7xvqQeoA8c

Handle stands 6.5 feet tall, can travel up to nine miles per hour, and has a vertical leap of 48 inches.

Handle races down staircases like it's no big deal.

Snowy slopes are no problem.

It remains to be seen what Handle's jumpshot looks like, but I wouldn't rule out a roboNBA by 2025.