Sports fans around the world can rejoice as the NBA has returned. After nearly a half a year hiatus, the NBA is back, but with some rather comical alterations.
COVID-19 has affected the gaming worldand beyond, and sports are certainly no exception. The NBA season was put on hold on June 29, 2025, and it was the first major sports league to take action in doing so. After a long spring and half of summer break, the NBA has returned in as safe a way as possible. Fans can enjoy the game on TV, but not in the stands.
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While the arena that the NBA players are duking it out in is devoid of human fans, the league has tried to make it seem more like the real deal by adding AI and at-home app technology to replicate fans cheering in the stands. The result is something that looks closer toNBA Jamcrowds, a classic NBA game from decades ago, than actual humans.
Anyone watching an NBA game, now that it has returned, may have a jarring reaction to the stands. Although the AI technology and ability to “tap-to-cheer” from home with an app is cool in theory, the final result is almost eerie. While there are tons offeatures that fans would like to see inNBA 2K21, it is unlikely that the crowds of the basketball video game will imitate the fake crowds of the actual NBA games that look like video game fans from two decades ago, but the thought it pretty hilarious.
This isn’t the first time this altered NBA has looked like a video game. The NBA is playing in a “bubble” to stay as safe as possible, and in thisNBA bubble, the barbershop looks a lot like theNBA 2Kbarbershop.
The NBA bubble, after theinitial suspension of the season back in March, is certainly an intriguing experiment. So far the NBA seems to have a good handle on how to keep players and fans as safe as possible during these trying times. But as the league tries its best to keep the sport as authentic as possible, it may end up being better to simply play in an empty arena than using freaky looking tech. But 2020 is already weird enough, so why not also have goofy AI crowds in the stands.
