NBA Commissioner Adam Silver revealed a new concept jersey which allows you to change the name and number on the back. Yes, you read that right, the name and number on the back of a jersey can be changed. No gimmick. And just to make sure you do not think they are playing a silly prank on you, the NBA commissioner previewed the jersey on Friday night in the clip below.
Adam Silver unveils the NBA jersey of the future. pic.twitter.com/h5GePOwOjx
— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2019
Silver and sportscaster Ahmad Rashad demonstrated the jersey at the NBA Tech Summit on Friday ahead of All-Star Weekend in Charlotte, switching a No. 30 Stephen Curry jersey to No. 23 Michael Jordan threads by using some sort of digital display (not quite clear on the technology yet) that will let you switch up the name and number on your jersey.
Some fans had jokes, and it’s unclear why the NBA would give up revenue when one fan could presumably buy one jersey and keep changing names on the back for life, instead of getting a new jersey. One wondered if there would be need to charge such a jersey? “I can barely remember to fold my clothes, and struggle enough with charging my phone every night. Are we going to have to charge this thing? Am I going to be in a situation where I’m late to an NBA game because I have to sit and wait for my Tomas Satoransky / Bradley Beal / Fire Ernie jersey to finish charging?”
Another fan pondered whether there would be be spell check available. “There better be, or else you’re going to have a lot of folks at Milwaukee games with “ANTETOKONUMNMNMPO” on the back,” wrote the fan about the concept jersey. One more fan asked if the iPhone repair places in the mall would be able to fix such tech jersey? “That seems like a nice revenue opportunity for those guys. Good on you, mall phone fixer guys.”
Meanwhile, the futuristic jerseys weren’t the only innovation discussed at Friday’s summit, per Spears. The NBA Commissioner also announced plans for facial recognition ticketing, hologram mascots and virtual reality glasses to take fans from their couch into a virtual arena. What are your thoughts about this innovation by the NBA? Will you be getting one of these jerseys when (or if) they become available commercially? Drop your thoughts about that and anything else about the jerseys that comes to your mind in the comments section.