The 2016 NBA Finals features the rematch of last year's battle between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Fans are expecting every game to be intense and exciting, as Stephen Curry and LeBron James are looking to lead their teams to the championship.
In a move that NBA fans all over the world will appreciate, the league has inked a partnership with Twitter and Samsung to be able to offer 360-degree video highlights of the ongoing NBA Finals.
The 360-degree videos, however, will not be live streaming ones. The footage will be recorded through Samsung Gear 360 cameras, with the videos to then be uploaded on the official Twitter account of the NBA.
In 360-degree videos, viewers can click and drag their view throughout the scene, which will hopefully provide fans with a more intimate look of the magnitude of the 2016 NBA Finals. Twitter said that exclusive content will be shown through these videos, while a Samsung representative added that the videos will feature scenes such as pregame warm-ups and post-game celebrations.
This marks the first time that Twitter is allowing 360-degree videos to be viewed on its platform, which is a first step in trying to catch up with the investments that other social networks such as Facebook have made in video capabilities. Twitter is still not able to support native 360-degree videos, as users will have to leave Twitter's website or app to view them.
So why did Twitter choose the 2016 NBA Finals to be its first attempt at offering 360-degree videos? It is probably because the matchup has been drawing massive attention in social media, with first-ever unanimous NBA MVP Curry hoping to defend the NBA title with the Warriors against James' Cavaliers, who are looking to bring the city of Cleveland its first championship in a major sport since 1964.
