Klay Thompson, his Splash Brother Steph Curry, and the rest of the Golden State Warriors are like Hansel in the first Zoolander movie “so hot right now.” The Warriors are ahead of the pace to break the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls season wins, winning percentage record.
That Michael Jordan led team went 72-10, so this Warriors side looks very likely to finish with single digit losses on the season- unheard of! The GSW march towards hoops immortality is making them a national sensation.
If you want to know what’s hip in America you look at the youth demographics. At my nephews’ school, Warriors gear abounds. That’s especially telling as we all live in Chicagoland. Yes, even in the heart of Bulls country the bandwagon is in full effect regarding the Warriors initiative to break the Bulls’ cherished record.
Golden State is a really fun to team watch too. In addition to the Splash Brothers, Draymond Green is a joy to observe in action. And how can you not love Curry’s “tunnel shots??”
You can see the GSW bandwagon growing in the Nielsen numbers too.
ESPN blasted out a self-congratulatory press release indicating that the Warriors defeat of the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-118 in overtime this past Saturday– averaged 5.3 million viewers making it the most-watched NBA regular-season telecast on any network since 2013 (non-Christmas), according to Nielsen.
The telecast peaked with 8m viewers from 11:15-11:30 p.m. ET.
That’s huge news…if you work for ESPN or the NBA. It’s not all that relevant to people who don’t fit those two categories. What is relevant to both you and me though is a new gadget endorsed by Klay Thompson- ShotTracker.
The device was previewed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last month and it’s available for purchase online (retail $149.99). The team-focused product will be released later this summer, but the core of the company is focused on this individual product readily available to consumers. ShotTracker is partnered with Spalding, Thompson, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and Mario Chalmers of the Memphis Grizzlies, so it’s definitely a product on the rise.
The forces of extreme climate change and the weather gods combined to give an extremely rare 63 degree February high in Chicago this past Sunday. It was a perfect birthday present to both me and my Godson as that was the same exact day our family chose to have our joint birthday party. As is family tradition, we hit the outdoor basketball courts together, weather permitting.
That’s when we tested out ShotTracker and I think my nephew said it best “this thing is sick!” “I got to have one” the member of the Cary-Grove High School Junior Varsity team said.
ShotTracker consists of three components: a sensor you place on the net, the microchip you place into the wristband on your shooting hand, and the app you install on your smart phone. It then tracks your shooting percentage in various formats which you can select.
“A multi-player product has always been ShotTracker’s ultimate goal, and our partnership with Spalding is key to reaching that objective,” said Davyeon Ross, COO of ShotTracker.
“This technology is a true industry benchmark because it captures stats on multiple players at the same time and there’s nothing like it on the market. While many competitors have attempted to automatically capture stats on multiple players in real-time, ShotTracker and Spalding are the only companies to develop a solution that is commercially viable for use at all levels of play.”
With the Mom/Dad/Grad gift-giving corridor coming up, all the basketball loving people in your life are going to want one of these things.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram