Six players are confirmed to play in the three-point game!Revealing the All-Star LED floor: the first time the NBA played on glass
On February 6, Beijing time, according to Shams and Woj of the Athletic, six players have been confirmed to play in this year's All-Star three-point contest, they are Haliburton of the Pacers, Lillard and Beasley of the Bucks, Brunson of the Knicks, Mitchell of the Cavaliers and Markkanen of the Jazz. Separately, the league unveiled this year's All-Star high-tech LED flooring, which ESPN said was the first time the NBA has played on glass.
Can Lillard defend his three-point title?
With the exception of Beasley, the other five confirmed players have all been selected as All-Stars. All six players have made at least 120 three-pointers so far this season. The biggest suspense in the three-point game is whether Lillard, last year's champion, can successfully defend his title, and the last player to defend the three-point game is Jason Kapono. He won back-to-back three-point games in 2006-07 and 2007-08.
The stats for the six players in the tournament so far this season are as follows, with Lillard shooting the lowest three-point percentage -
Haliburton averaged 22.6 points, 4 rebounds, 11.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game, shooting 39.8% from three-point range;
Lillard averaged 24.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1 steal per game, shooting 34.7% from three-point range;
Beasley averaged 11.2 points, 4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 45.1% from three-point range.
Brunson averaged 27.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 0.9 steals per game, shooting 41.3% from three-point range;
Mitchell averaged 28.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game while shooting 35.1% from three-point range;
Markkanen averaged 23.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2 assists and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 40.1% from three-point range.
Uncover the all-star LED glass floor
The NBA officially unveiled the all-star LED floor, and ESPN said it was the first time the NBA had played a game on glass.
The league says the All-Star Arena will be equipped with state-of-the-art full-video LED flooring. With the exception of the All-Star Game, all other individual events and Masters will be played on the glass floor. The Feb. 19 All-Star Game was still played on a wooden floor.
The LED flooring displays color changes during the game, real-time replays of the game, real-time statistics, tracking animations of player positions, interactive games with fans during timeouts and animations of celebrations at specific moments.
"It (the LED floor) gives us a bigger view and allows us to do more things, like interact with the East Sea, change colors, really react to what's happening in the game, and we're very happy with its ability and believe it will have a huge impact on both live and live TV," said NBA SVP Carlton Myers. ”
The course was developed by the German company ASB GlassFloor and has been used in tournaments by FIBA, the sport's governing body. FIBA approved the use of LED glass flooring in the top competitions in 2022. The league did not disclose the cost of the pitch, only that it was more expensive than wooden flooring.
The NBA has been considering this flooring for a while. Iguodala and Joe Dumas, the NBA's executive vice president for basketball operations, conducted trials on the court last week to check how it was played and whether it was safe.
The NBA said the court was actually two layers of laminated safety glass, each 5mm thick. The surface is opaque and all the designs will be provided by the LED panels. The pitch will have a different look for each game, and some of the content displayed in it includes real-time match stats, replays, video content, and even player tracking animations. The surface is almost identical to wood in terms of elasticity and feel.
The NBA experimented with court design changes earlier in the season, when different looks were used for the midseason tournament, but those courts were still traditional wood, just with a different paint scheme.