NBA Says 300 Fans Invited to Appear Live on Videoboards by Courts in Bubble

The NBA announced Friday that it will give fans an opportunity to feel like they're in attendance at games in the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida, without physically being there.

More than 300 fans will be invited to appear on 17-foot videoboards around the courts during each game, and they "will have the opportunity to digitally interact with each other throughout the game."

Mark Medina of USA Today tweeted a photo of what the videoboard will look like with fan involvement:

The format is reminiscent of what the NFL did during the draft in April, when fans of the team that was making a selection appeared on a screen behind NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as he announced the pick.

In Major League Baseball, many teams are allowing fans to pay to have cardboard cutouts of themselves placed in the stands.

With no fans in attendance during the coronavirus pandemic, sporting events lack noise and atmosphere. Perhaps the NBA's videoboard can help change that.

If the selected fans on the videoboards are allowed to cheer, boo and be loud in general, it could go a long way toward making the games feel more like normal.

The 2019-20 NBA season was suspended in March, but it will resume July 30 when the New Orleans Pelicans face the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Los Angeles Clippers.

Once each of the 22 teams plays eight regular-season games, the 2020 NBA playoffs will commence as the top eight seeds in each conference qualify.