Google Pixel 7

When you consider the NBA global fandom, it’s true that 99% of fans never experience the live arena. In 2023, Pixel & NBA launched a groundbreaking virtual world accessible for all fans to create, play and celebrate basketball culture called Pixel Arena.

Inside Pixel Arena fans roam freely, see each other’s avatars and check out the latest Google Trends based on what NBA fans around the world are searching. With Pixel Arena’s updated avatar builder, fans have more options, including more natural skin tones from the Monk Skin Tone (MST) Scale, a 10-shade scale incorporated into Pixel’s Real Tone camera technology. Fans can also unlock new virtual fashion and upgrade their avatar’s attire with over a trillion style combos inspired by futuristic streetwear and basketball culture. To top it all off, each avatar comes complete with a Pixel 7 Pro in their color of choice to serve as a virtual guide to navigate the Pixel Arena.

Avatars aren’t the only thing that can be personalized. A special guest appearance from an avatar of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid introduces fans to the new Highlight (Re)Mixer, inviting them to “remix” 15 classic and new NBA plays. This feature uses 3D-pose estimation to turn captured videos into 3D content, and then export them with our rendering technology. With the Highlight (Re)Mixer, fans can reenact the highlight and put their own spin on it with new camera angles and visual effects until it's just right to share with the world.

Mini games in the Pixel Arena also got a major upgrade this season. Now dubbed the Skill Zone, fans can play new games — NBA Shot Trivia and Baller Blitz — in single and multiplayer mode. These games surface trivia questions that have meaningful historical context for the players and teams featured — all thanks to our machine learning technology and nightly NBA game stats. For example, when Giannis Antetokoumnpo scored 55 points in a matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Washington Wizards earlier this season, Pixel Arena auto-generated a trivia question with the context that this performance was a career-high for Antetokounmpo.