Drone Camera at NBA Game is Lambasted by Basketball Fans

TNT used a drone during an NBA game last night between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, prompting an angry reaction from basketball fans.

The drone appeared during the first and second quarter of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, flying into the shot of the standard cameras and distracting fans.

‘Yes, That is a Drone You’re Seeing’

The reaction coming from Twitter was overwhelmingly negative toward the drone camera.

“I don’t need a drone view, can the NBA be serious right now,” writes one person.

“Can we not do the drone shots at the NBA games it looks horrible,” adds another.

Deadspin argues that “the drone didn’t enhance anything” and that the picture was “unimpressive.”

Not everyone condemned the new device, SBNATION writes that it could have been a success had the footage been “higher quality and less choppy,” adding that the drone “should not be visible from the normal camera angle.”

There are plenty of sports that use drones in broadcasts; including Formula 1, golf, and extreme sports. But, flying devices indoors is understandably more of a risk.

In 2015, a drone almost took out a skier after it fell from the sky and crashed in the exact spot the rider had been milliseconds earlier.

That same year, a drone crashed in stands during the tennis U.S. Open and in 2013 five people were injured in Virginia after a drone crashed into the stands at a sporting event.

Drones undoubtedly have a habit of annoying people, fans celebrating the LA Kings Stanley Cup win threw projectiles at a drone filming the crowd eventually taking it out of the sky.

Earlier this year, PetaPixel reported on a surf photographer questioning the use of drones at beaches saying: “They are pretty loud and obtrusive, especially when they’re hovering a few feet above you as is the case in the water when shooting surf.”