June 26, 2014
NEW YORK – Google and the NBA are teaming up during the 2014 NBA Draft to give fans around the world the opportunity to speak live with top draft picks using Google+ Hangouts moments after they are selected. This marks the first time the NBA is conducting Hangouts during the NBA Draft.
Throughout the NBA Draft – live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., beginning at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN – top draft prospects, including Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Dante Exum, Aaron Gordon, Marcus Smart and others onsite, will join various Hangouts to surprise fans and answer their questions.
Fans hoping to have one of the draft prospects join their Hangout during the NBA Draft are encouraged to share their Hangout link using hashtags #NBADraftCrash or #MagicDraftCrash. Hangouts can be created at www.nba.com/draftcrash and www.plus.google.com/hangouts.
“Google+ Hangouts are the perfect way to bring fans face-to-face with the newest members of the NBA on one of the biggest nights of their lives,” said NBA Senior Vice President of Digital Media Melissa Rosenthal Brenner. “The NBA Draft brings fans from all around the world together, and this unprecedented access to our newest players is a great addition to our exciting and comprehensive digital offerings.”
Following the event, fans will be able to view highlights of the surprise NBA Draft Hangouts on various NBA digital assets, including NBA.com, NBA Channel on YouTube (www.youtube.com/nba), NBA Twitter (www.twitter.com/nba) and NBA Facebook (www.facebook.com/nba), OrlandoMagic.com, along with directly on the Google+ page (www.google.com/+NBA).
Google+ Hangouts is a free communications application, available for Gmail, Google+, as a Chrome extension and as an application on your iOS or Android device that allows users to send messages, photos and to make video calls with friends and family.