NBA’s Starting Five Of Tech Companies Provide ‘Launchpad’ Project Updates During Summer League In Las Vegas; Ex-NBAer Turns Ref; Monday’s Attendance 11,003

 Story by Alan Snel   Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell

Vinzenz Bichler noticed NBA star Steph Curry wears ankle braces, so Bichler hopes he can one day pitch the Golden State Warriors scoring ace on using an ankle support belt built into his sneaker that’s made by his company to prevent Curry from turning an ankle.

“Direct integration (of the belt in the sneaker) makes the best sense,” Bichler told LVSportsBiz.com Monday evening.

Bichler’s BetterGuards company from Berlin, Germany was among the five companies that presented slide-driven snapshots of their R & D progress at the NBA Summer League at Thomas & Mack Center. Here’s Bichler and his crew explaining the technology:

The league in January picked these five for its inaugural NBA Launchpad program to pilot emerging technologies into the basketball game.

In his post-presentation comments, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver loved the presentations. Here’s a slice of Silver’s comments:

The commissioner mused he didn’t have slides to offer and joked that he didn’t quite understand everything in the presentations. But then Silver turned serious when he explained the three Launchpad priorities for 2023, including soft tissue injury prevention.

“Nothing is more frustrating than injuries,” Silver told the audience invited to hear the five companies’ presentations.

From the NBA, here are the Launchpad starting five with summaries of their focus:

 

• BetterGuards (Berlin, Germany): Adaptive ankle protection system that provides advanced freedom of motion for athletes while actively preventing injuries.
• Breathwrk (Los Angeles, California): Health and performance app that provides science-backed breathing exercises, helping athletes wake up, calm down, increase stamina and fall asleep.
• Nextiles (Brooklyn, New York): Materials science company that quantifies human movement by merging sewing technologies with flexible electronics.
• Rezzil (Manchester, United Kingdom): VR-based solution for cognitive training, rehabilitation and game analysis.
• Uplift Labs (Palo Alto, California): AI-powered technology that delivers real-time movement tracking and 3D analysis to enhance health and performance. Uplift’s representative said $8 million in seed money have been invested in the endeavor.

Bichler told LVSportsBiz.com that his company has spent $10 million on developing the product over the past six years, including building a production plant to crank out the product and handle all the work in-house.

He mentioned he’s been in discussions with sneaker companies about incorporating BetterGuards ankle belt technology into their shoe product, but Bichler said he could not disclose the sneaker companies.

After the Launchpad updates, the New York Knicks played the Portland Trail Blazers, featuring former NBA player/current ESPN broadcaster Richard Jefferson in action as a referee in the second quarter.

Here are some pics of Jefferson in action:

Monday’s Day 5 had attendance of 11,003.