WNBA All-Star Weekend: A Celebration of Sport
Meta’s partnership with the NBA and WNBA resonates with me on both professional and personal levels. I’ve been at the company for almost seven years, and I’ve moved from different roles with Facebook and Instagram now to the Reality Labs side of the house—just like our NBA and WNBA partnership. The full embodiment of what we execute together today is exactly the type of collaboration I came here to build.
It all started with social content, then a direct sponsorship initiative, and it’s grown into what we only dreamed about years ago: the full breadth of live NBA and WNBA games, fan experiences, and premium content across our platforms married with our position as the league’s Official Mixed Reality Headset. They are a partner that pushes the limit of what our technology can do. They’re always eager to participate in new and cutting-edge ideas that we may have or products that we’re building, so it’s been a pleasure to work with them over the past year.
We started out as the official VR headset of the NBA several years ago, and were then able to offer a lineup of NBA games in what was then Venues. Today, as the official MR headset of the NBA and WNBA, we offer free live NBA and WNBA games in Xtadium* as fully immersive experiences as well as mixed reality 2D broadcasts. For those who want to go deeper, you can connect with fellow superfans in Meta Horizon Worlds to play mini-games together, earn rewards, and show off your team spirit with exclusive avatar merch.
The immersive games where you’re sitting courtside are extremely unique. The NBA was a pioneer, working with us to make the production as small and light of a footprint as possible so that we could seamlessly capture immersive productions in key locations in the stadiums to really create that feeling of having the best seats in the house. Sitting courtside has the energy of being in the arena—you can hear chants of the crowd,, you can look to the side and see who’s about to come into the game, and you can notice all of the peripheral elements that may not be captured on a nationwide broadcast.
Of course, you also have the beauty of watching many games on a giant screen in mixed reality mode where you can see your snack spread on your coffee table and stay connected to your physical environment as you enjoy the game. We see a lot of partners latch on to one aspect of Meta Quest—either fully immersive VR or MR that blends the physical and digital worlds—and the NBA has really leaned in on the full breadth of what Quest has to offer people, both in terms of fully immersive games balanced with 2D games on a massive screen as well as the social aspect and fan connection that you get within NBA Arena in Worlds.
Now that we’re in the middle of WNBA All-Star Weekend, I’m so excited to see all of these incredible athletes play together. The WNBA has been growing for decades, and the past year or two has really seen a huge uptick in popularity and eye-catching attention to what’s going on in the league. I’m excited to see these household names all on the court together.
All-Star Weekend perfectly marries the fun of seeing players reunite with their friends and former teammates on the court while flexing their skills that show they are some of the most talented athletes in the world. It is guaranteed to deliver amazing plays that are totally dazzling to watch. Personally, while we’re counting down the days until my daughter is old enough for her first New York Liberty game, All-Star Weekend is something we’ll watch together at home. I can’t wait for her to experience the camaraderie and life lessons that playing team sports provided me growing up, and think that the women of the WNBA will serve as role models for her as they do for so many young boys and girls today.
The WNBA is so unique. It’s special to me, and I really do revel in the rise and popularity of it. It has such an important place in our culture. I can’t wait to share my love of sports with my kid, and we’re thrilled to let fans come together to celebrate the sport—no matter where they happen to be.
Don’t miss the remaining lineup of WNBA games on Xtadium and in Worlds:**
- August 17 // Chicago @ Los Angeles // 2:00 pm PT (immersive game)
- August 20 // Los Angeles @ Connecticut // 4:00 pm PT
- August 21 // Phoenix @ Atlanta // 4:30 pm PT
- August 28 // Washington @ Chicago // 5:00 pm PT
- September 1 // Las Vegas @ Phoenix // 1:00 pm PT (immersive game)
- September 15 // Dallas @ Indiana // 12:00 pm PT (immersive game)
