sports

NBA, Tissot Unveil New Shot Clock

The NBA and Tissot are partnering on an integrated timing system and a new shot clock with LED glass technology developed exclusively for the league.

The clock will debut July 8 at Samsung NBA Summer League and will be integrated into all NBA arenas for the 2016-17 season. 

Tissot has worked with the NBA since last October, when the Swiss traditional watchmaker became the Official Timekeeper of the NBA, Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and NBA Development League (NBA D-League), It is the watchmaker’s first partnership with a major North American sports league in the company’s 160-year history. 

The integration of the new Tissot shot clock and timing system marks the first time the league will use the same clocks and timing equipment across all 29 of its arenas. Each shot clock will feature Tissot branding, a sign of the company’s increasing presence at NBA games. 

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The shot clock is visibly free of cables and conductors and equipped with LED glass, making the clock nearly transparent when in use and fully transparent while turned off.  

The clock integrates the 24-second, timeout, and game clocks in one piece of hardware — a first for the league. Transitions between numbers are instant and undetectable even by high-speed TV cameras, resulting in definitive footage that will further assist NBA referees and the NBA Replay Center in evaluating certain critical calls, according to the NBA.

The new system simultaneously transmits exact timing data to all in-arena scoreboards and video equipment, letting fans follow the action within fractions of a second. Clock and scoreboard operators in all arenas will control the system with Tissot’s proprietary software.

“The NBA has depended on accurate timekeeping for more than 70 years, and in all that time we’ve never had a partner like Tissot,” said Michael Gliedman, NBA senior vice president and chief information officer, information technology, in a release. “Tissot’s expertise and groundbreaking timing system developed exclusively for the NBA will provide us with the most sophisticated shot clock the league has ever had, enhancing our game on the court and providing a sharper viewing experience for fans.”

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