Over recent years, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has been the conductor of the train speeding into the sporting world’s technological future. NBA players have sealed investments with tech partners, and the continued growth of the NBA has blossomed thanks to their embrace of digital media and content.
Today, the NBA solidified itself as the “eHarmony” of the NBA and its relationship with technology, matchmaking players and the Association with tech companies and opportunities in the digital-tech capital of the United States, Silicon Valley.
According Fast Co., the National Basketball Players’ Association (NBPA) has announced the inaugural NBPA Technology Summit, a three-day event (July 19-21) which will integrate NBA players with tech companies to create post-career relationships and opportunities.
The NBPA’s chief marketing officer, Jordan Schlachter, believes the Summit will give NBA players the ability to make moves within tech companies, not just attach their names to them.
“Our players told us they wanted to understand more about how they can take advantage of emerging technology and the media space to learn more about post-career opportunities and about growing their brand,” Schlachter says. “This program isn’t about investment opportunities for players—it’s about education. It’s about learning what the businesses really are.”
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The event is set to take place in San Francisco, California, home of Golden State Warriors forward and co-vice president of the NBPA, Andre Iguodala. The 40 mile sprint from San Francisco to Silicon Valley creates an efficient proximity for players and their future tech relationships.
Iguodala has been the key facilitator in building the NBPA’s Technology Summit. His journey in the tech space began with a “tester period,” where he experimented with small investments to get his feet wet. After some time, he began shaping startup companies like Twice, where Iggy became the menswear director before eBay bought out the company last year.
The NBPA Technology Summit plans on including media and tech company site visits, as well as lectures, presentations and workshops from executives and other tech influences. Jawbone, Pinterest, Andreessen Horowitz, and SV Angel are just a few companies already on board to help NBA players find their fit in the Valley. One space that Schlachter believes NBA athletes could thrive is wearable technology.
“Athletes are kind of the benchmark for wearables—their input into how these companies work, how they market themselves, what they’re trying to capture could be useful on both sides of the fence because it’s really important that these companies get feedback from the best athletes in the world,” Schlachter says. “It’s an emerging space, so I think this is something that can be mutually beneficial for both the companies and our athletes.”
The wearable tech space is ballooning across all professional leagues. In fact, Major League Baseball just closed a multi-year deal with Blast Motion making them the Official Bat Sensor Technology of the MLB.
The wearable tech space is just the start for the NBPA and its players. With the Technology Summit around the corner, NBA players can keep their options open when it comes to investing in technology companies.