by Al Sacco

NBA Team Uses Google Glass to Engage Fans, Grab Headlines

Opinion
Jan 27, 20142 mins
AndroidConsumer Electronics

Google Glass isn't publicly available yet, but it's starting to pop up in some interesting places, including Sacramento Kings basketball games.

The NBA’s Sacramento Kings are using Google Glass to show fans watching at home unique views of the game from the team’s on-court “host,” broadcast crew and other fans.

The idea is to share the viewpoint of people with interesting or exclusive perspectives at Kings games with viewers who aren’t there in person. CBS Sacramento also says the Kings hope “to use the glasses to help out coaches in the future by offering up different views of a play seconds after it happened.”

I’m not exactly sure why Glass would be better suited for this purpose than a traditional camera, which makes me wonder if the idea will bring true value to viewers or just more press for the Sacramento Kings. Either way, it’s cool to see Glass being put to use by corporations outside of the tech world.

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of Glass and the NBA mentioned in the same sentence either. Last August, Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey, suggested it might be a good idea for NBA officials to wear Glass during games.

Of course, Google Glass isn’t publically available yet, so even if you have $1500 to burn on new tech toys, you’ll have to wait at least a little while longer to get your Glass. Google says its smartglasses will be widely available sometime this year.