How the NBA is using virtual fans to make games feel normal
When the NBA playoffs start on Aug. 15, they’ll be missing one crucial element: home court advantage. All 16 teams that make the postseason will play on the same three courts, sans fans, deep inside a disinfected Disney World fortress known as the bubble. To give the games some semblance of normalcy—for the players and for fans—the NBA is using every technical trick it can muster.