What's it like to play basketball on an LED TV screen? NBA All-Stars can tell you

INDIANAPOLIS -- Myles Turner isn’t certain he could play a full 48-minute NBA game on top of it, but call the Pacers big-man a fan of the glass LED court the league debuted during this weekend’s All-Star weekend festivities held in Lucas Oil Stadium.

Turner was one of nearly two-dozen players Saturday night who, along with Friday night’s celebrity game selections, played on a court who’s surface used simple color changes, as well as moving, sliding, evolving graphics, to project the feeling of a court that felt both alive and interactive.

The technology, developed by the German company ASB GlassFloor, has been used previously in events held by FIBA, who approved its use in high-level competitions in 2022. The surface itself is actually two layers of laminated safety glass, each 5 millimeters thick. The surface, when not lit at all, is opaque. When activated, though, it gives the look of a high-gloss basketball floor.

But it can change in a flash.

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The NBA used the high-tech court in a variety of ways Saturday night, ranging from giving players directions – and highlighting when they messed up – during the relay round of the Skills Challenge, which featured players weaving and dribbling around obstacles, which the court illuminated with winding arrows.

It made changing the center-court logo for each event seamless, and it allowed the league to accentuate Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu’s 3-point competition with vibrant, high-energy neon colors that matched the energy of Lucas Oil.

During Jaylen Brown’s final round of the Dunk Contest, it helped the Boston Celtics wing to pay tribute to late-University of Kentucky men’s basketball star Terrance Clarke, who died nearly three years ago in a car accident in Los Angeles months before he was set to enter the 2021 NBA Draft. Along with sporting Clarke’s Brewster Academy jersey during one of this final dunks, a 360-degree windmill, Clarke’s smiling face flashed across the paint directly underneath the basket Brown was dunking on.

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“It was really cool, really cool,” said Philadelphia 76ers All-Star selection Tyrese Maxey, who gave it praise – despite seemingly bobbling the ball early-on in the relay round of the Skills Challenge – leaving some to wonder if the court had been a distraction. “It was really nice. The NBA does a really good job of keeping the fans entertained and us players surprised as well.”

Added Turner: “I thought it was pretty cool, honestly. It didn’t really bother me, though I feel like I couldn’t play a full 48 minutes like that. But it probably looked great on TV, and that’s dope for the fans.

“I wasn’t mad at it.”

Not all of Saturday night’s players, though were in favor. Perhaps so locked into the Skills Challenge – or, admittedly, already looking ahead to his brother’s Saturday night birthday celebration out on the town – Minnesota Timberwolves budding star Anthony Edwards was confused when asked by a reporter about the new-look court technology.

Perhaps, when lit like a simple hardwood floor, it looked too real.

“I had no clue,” said Edwards.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: NBA All-Star Weekend: New glass LED court shines at Skills Challenge