NBA Western Conference Finals: ESPN's InsightCast' Features Avatar Shot Charts, Virtual 3D Replays, and Immersive Analysis AR-enhanced game camera and detailed dunk metrics also in the mix By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - 2:46 pm
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The next chapter in ESPN's altcast odyssey tips off tonight, when the network will produce its first InsightCast for Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals. Leveraging technology from Beyond Sports, SMT, ShotBot/VividArcs, and others, the altcast will feature data-driven visual elements such as an AR-enhanced play-by-play game camera, avatar-populated shot charts, virtual 3D replays, immersive replay analysis, and a detailed statistical look at dunks.
ESPN will utlize ShotBot technology from VividArcs to create virtual shot charts featuring personalized avatars for each player
I think [this is] really an unrestrained opportunity to talk about the game at a high level, says Phil Orlins, VP of Production, ESPN. As [technology] continues to get better and better every day, we are entering a world where you can really see things from any position, anytime, any angle, at any speed and I think that advancement is really necessary.
Western Conference Finals: The InsightCast Presented by YouTube TV presentations will air exclusively on ESPN platforms for Games 1-4 of the series, staring tonight with Game 1 on ESPN2. The production will look to build on ESPN's extensive efforts in the altcast realm, including a long line of MLB Statcast Edition broadcasts, as well as a litany of animated broadcasts like NBA Dunk the Halls, Simpsons Funday Football, Toy Story Funday Football, and a pair of NHL Big City Greens Classics.
This has been a work in progress for a while and the idea of Insight and getting deeper into the game as an alternate telecast was something that was appealing to us, says Tim Corrigan, SVP of Sports Production, ESPN. We're excited about what we can do and provide greater insight - not just into the game but into the production of the game and what tools may become common in the future.
Orlins adds: Whether we're [visualizing advanced data] with Statcast MLB to create virtual animated replays or doing the fully animated cartoon-based games. I always saw the potential of that data as something that would influence the way we cover sports in the future.
The InsightCast Production Workflow: Crew, Talent Back in Bristol The InsightCasts will be produced out of ESPN's Bristol, CT studios and feature the commentary trio of Ryan Ruocco, Tim Legler and Kirk Goldsberry. Producer Laurie Privitera and director Billy Proctor, both longtime veterans of ESPN's NBA coverage, will be at the front bench for the production, which will operate on a 1-2-second delay behind the main ESPN/ABC broadcast.
I love doing these things because we don't really find out what we can do that's going to impact the future of the way we cover things unless we have a chance to really try them in real-life circumstances and show them to a real actual audience out there, says Orlins. I think it just helps us really move the ball forward in a great way to be able to do this type of stuff.
AR-Enhanced Game Camera: SMT Powers New AR-centric Play-by-Play Look The broadcast will feature an AR-enhanced game camera, powered by SMT's data and tracking capabilities, that will offer a much more aggressive approach to providing information on the screen during the actual live cut, according to Corrigan. On-screen AR graphics from SMT will include player ID tags, shot distance markers, and a variety of other data-driven player stats. In addition to the AR-enhanced main game camera, the broadcast will go outside the norm in terms of camera angles for game coverage.
[We're] in this free-form opportunity to analyze the game, [so] you may see us do a few different things: watch a little action from the opposite side above the rim [or] watch a little action on the Skycam. Things that allow us to see defensive lanes and stuff like that and be unrestrained in our ability to talk about the game from that perspective.
Next-Gen Shot Charts: Lifelike Avatars Offer Closer Look at Shooting Trends ESPN has enlisted ShotBot technology from VividArcs to create virtual shot charts featuring personalized avatars for each player on both the Thunder and Timberwolves. Using the NBA's Hawk-Eye player-tracking data, ShotBot technology is able to create avatars for each shot based on the player's movement and positioning.
Not only do you get shot [locations], distances, and stats but you actually see the representation of the player movement through the Hawk-Eye tracking data, says Orlins. You get a feel for what they're doing to accomplish that score. I think it really is a meaningful step forward from sort of two-
According to Orlins, these dynamic shot charts will be created regularly throughout the game and are expected to be used fairly liberally in the broadcast.
Virtual 3D Replays: Beyond Sports Tech Delivers Any Angle Imaginable Beyond Sports - the Sony-owned company that has provided the data-visualization platform for the recent wave of animated altcasts from ESPN, NHL, and others - will be creating virtual replays from almost any angle imaginable. These replays will be available within 15-20 seconds the play, allowing them to be utilized first-replays within the telecast should the front bench opt to use them.
From one play, a variety of different first person, third person, on-the-court angles, Skycam type of angles that can be created, says Orlins. [You can be] watching it from Donovan Mitchell's third person, over-the-shoulder point of view [and then] you'll see first-person point of views that are more bouncy [where
