NEW YORK – Oculus from Facebook, a leading virtual reality platform, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced a multiyear partnership that makes Oculus an Official Marketing Partner and the first-ever Virtual Reality Headset Partner of the NBA, Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and NBA G League.

Oculus is tipping off the partnership this week to coincide with the start of the 2020 NBA Playoffs.  As presenting partner of the NBA Rail Cam Replay on ESPN, ABC and TNT, the newly-dubbed “Oculus Front Row View” camera angle is just one of the many ways the NBA and Oculus will provide an innovative experience for fans watching games at home.  Oculus will also continue to make live NBA League Pass games available in virtual reality (VR) via Oculus Venues on Oculus Quest and Oculus Go headsets.

“The NBA has a strong history of using virtual reality to connect people in ways that weren’t possible before – and that’s never been more important than it is now,” said Rob Shaw, Facebook Director of Sports Media and League Partnerships.  “We’re thrilled for Oculus to be an official partner of the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League and look forward to helping more fans experience the beauty of professional basketball in VR.”

 “This partnership furthers our ongoing commitment to engage with fans of the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League in new and innovative ways,” said Julie Morris, Vice President, Media & Business Development, NBA.  “Together with Oculus, we will create new experiences for our fans while also bringing them closer to the action through Oculus’ state-of-the-art VR devices.”

As an Official Marketing Partner of the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League, Oculus will become an associate partner of the NBA Draft presented by State Farm and NBA Crossover at NBA All-Star.  Additionally, Oculus will become an associate partner of both the WNBA’s Believe in Women platform and the NBA G League End of Season Tournament.

Oculus will also have a presence throughout both ESPN Wide World of Sports and IMG Academy as the 2019-20 NBA season and 2020 WNBA season continue in Orlando and Bradenton, Florida, with Oculus signage and Oculus Quest headset gifting to NBA and WNBA players.

About the NBA
The NBA is a global sports and media business built around four professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the NBA G League and the NBA 2K League.  The NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 100,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2019-20 season featured 108 international players from 38 countries and territories.  NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass.  The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with 1.8 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.  Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.

About Oculus
The Oculus team at Facebook lets people defy distance—connecting with each other and the world—through world-class VR hardware and software. With global departments dedicated to cutting-edge research, computer vision, haptics, social interaction, and more, Oculus is committed to driving the state of the art forward through relentless innovation.