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NBA teams embracing Pokemon GO mania

By Matt Couden

NOVOSIBIRSK, RUSSIA - JULY 16, 2016: The Pokemon Go location based mobile game running on a smartphone. The application, developed by Niantic, allows to catch and train Pokemons using a phone's GPS and camera. The game is available for iOS and Android devices. Kirill Kukhmar/TASS (Photo by Kirill Kukhmar\TASS via Getty Images)
NOVOSIBIRSK, RUSSIA - JULY 16, 2016: The Pokemon Go location based mobile game running on a smartphone. The application, developed by Niantic, allows to catch and train Pokemons using a phone's GPS and camera. The game is available for iOS and Android devices. Kirill Kukhmar/TASS (Photo by Kirill Kukhmar\TASS via Getty Images) /
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Several NBA teams are trying to integrate the latest mobile game craze, Pokemon GO, into their game plans.

The Pokemon GO craze and its far-reaching effects may be appearing at an NBA arena in your vicinity in the very near future. Several teams in the professional basketball league are embracing the mobile game, including the Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks.

A Sports Illustrated report indicates that the Kings may officially be the first team that should get credit for the merging of the mobile game with enjoying a basketball game. Apparently, team owner Vivek Randive and Sacramento hosted the first-ever “NBA Pokemon Go” meet up. The event took place at Sleep Train Arena but reports say once their Golden 1 Center is done in October it will make for a faster network to use the game on.

In addition to hosting the event, Kings forward-center Willie Cauley-Stein was featured in a video to promote the event. While he said he wouldn’t be part of the event, it sounds like he may be amongst the millions of people trying to catch Pokemon on a daily basis.

Two other teams have also hosted Pokemon GO meetups. The Houston Rockets held one at the Toyota Center where they also offered discounts on team merchandise for anyone playing the game. The Dallas Mavericks tweeted out an invite for fans to come to their own meetup at AT&T Plaza as well.

By the way, the popular game also made its way into the NBA’s Summer League. The league’s official Twitter account posted an image showing various Pokemon GO character sitings on and around the hardwood.

With technology moving so fast, it makes sense that the NBA would be amongst the first to embrace this huge trend. They recently announced a live streaming partnership with Twitter, integrating another big part of technology in these modern times.

However, when it comes to the new mobile game craze, one has to wonder if fans will be watching NBA games at the arenas this season, or wandering aimlessly around the concourses trying to catch Pokemon!

For more NBA coverage, check out our hub page.

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