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This is the latest episode of “Attack on Wemby: Across the Knicks-Verse,” the short-form anime series that has provided the most entertaining recap of the NBA Finals. The byproduct of a leap of faith by Los Angeles native Jake Wang, the show, in Japanese with English subtitles, has turned into a popular satire of the storylines surrounding each game of the NBA Finals. It follows Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs as characters from the renowned Japanese anime Attack on Titan who are trying to take over New York, represented by the “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” movies.
LeBron James: Ya Think?!?! 🤦🏾♂️ Daniel Roberts: AI is hastening the spread of fake news slop, and it's particularly bad in the sports category for reasons @EllynBriggs @FOS enumerates. Athletes having to set the record straight on a daily basis now due to viral fake quotes and misinfo.
One of the most bizarre moments of Game 1 came with about 6 and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter, when a man ran onto the floor in an attempt to take a selfie with Wemby. The individual is now facing serious consequences for the stunt. Authorities say the incident was about more than just a photo, and that it was tied to an effort to promote a cryptocurrency scheme.
From social media accounts seemingly linked to the group, investigators believe this was not an isolated stunt. Authorities say it appears to be part of an effort to promote a cryptocurrency scheme. According to those reports, the goal is to generate attention around a digital coin in hopes of attracting investors, boosting its value, and then cashing out, leaving buyers with worthless currency.
Sports Media Watch: For those wondering, the NBA Finals does not have a presenting sponsor this year. (Had previously been YouTube TV, which was the first presenting sponsor ever for the event.)
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Front Office Sports: Kyle Kuzma on Adam Silver saying AI will eventually make calls in NBA games, such as out-of-bounds: “I think that’s a great idea, because we have these coaching challenges and stoppage during games where five minutes of real time may go off, and we’re just sitting there."
ESPN: Adam Silver says the NBA will implement an AI automated system to review calls. (via @patmcafeeshow)
Adam Silver says the NBA will implement an AI automated system to review calls.
— ESPN (@espn) May 27, 2026
(via @patmcafeeshow) pic.twitter.com/NqyLxWnUbj
Jump shooting is the single most foundational skill in basketball, and it’s been a largely subjective art for its entire existence. A dozen shooting coaches might give you 10 different nuanced approaches to shooting an ideal jumper. Now, though, the game’s most important repetitive motion is on the verge of being deconstructed by tech that has finally caught up. The concept draws regular comparisons to baseball, which has undergone its own biomechanics revolution across the last decade-plus—the nastiest pitches you see on TV these days are increasingly optimized in training facilities that emphasize concepts like spin rate and pitch tunneling. And as has been the case in MLB, many involved in these early efforts believe this and similar forms of athlete mapping are the NBA’s next big arm’s race.
At least theoretically, if you understand these general jumper traits, you can determine an “optimal” combination of shot angle and shot speed for a given player and shot type. “Pitch design is really popular in baseball,” said Buffi, who previously worked for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Reboot Motion also began in the baseball space, expanding to the NBA in the last few years. “We’re trying to pioneer shot design in basketball.” As Buffi and others in the field are quick to point out, though, the secret sauce isn’t identifying the ideal characteristics of a shot; it’s figuring out how to translate and apply that information to human beings. And even with great capture mechanisms available, jumper-hackers throughout the sector caution that we’re at the very beginning of what could be a long and winding road.
Fresh off a historic 40-point performance in the finals of the Unrivaled season, WNBA player Kelsey Plum is taking a different shot: an AI twin. Fans can now voice call with a digital version of the Los Angeles Sparks star. Plum announced the twin on her personal Instagram account on March 6, asking her AI self for advice on her ponytail and coffee versus energy drink. Plum is the first professional female athlete to launch a verified AI digital twin. It’s a move that’s earning plaudits as a way for women in sports to take control of their image and expand their reach. “The opportunity to have a twin that can connect with fans, with young people, people that love basketball, people that are just interested in sports. The range is endless,” Plum says. “It’s where we are in society, and I think you are either gonna get with it or get lost.”
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Because Plum is one of the first to step into this kind of AI digitization, she admits there might be learning curves with some of the twin’s responses. Those potential distortions are where Ashra hesitates. “I think there is a benefit to interactivity. I think the risks are on unexpected behavior,” he says. “All AI models are nondeterministic. You actually don’t know how they’re going to respond until they’re in that context.” He’s not the only skeptic. Since Plum’s Instagram launch, commenters haven’t been shy about voicing their concerns about this use of AI.
NBC will soon debut its Peacock Performance View on the main broadcasts of its NBA coverage. Performance View is a data-driven graphical overlay that Peacock streamers have been able to toggle on and off but will now be used at times on the traditional telecast. Its exact linear launch has not been determined but will be during the regular season.
John Jelley, NBCUniversal’s SVP who oversees product and user experience on Peacock, shared on stage at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference that, on average, a quarter of users had been engaging with the feature with as many 40% for some games. Given its popularity, the idea is to continue educating the audience of what’s available.
Awful Announcing: Adam Silver: "There's no doubt that AI will have the same impact on sports... how we're going to be able to [hyper-personalize] our telecasts... We're about to witness probably the most significant change, certainly in my lifetime, in how sports are presented." 🏀📺🎙️ #NBA