Knicks’ Christmas Game to Receive Disney Treatment

Even if they miss out on a championship this season, the New York Knicks are going to Disney World.

Disney and ESPN announced on Wednesday that coverage of the Knicks’ Christmas Day game against the San Antonio Spurs will receive an alternate broadcast billed as the “first real-time animated NBA game” featuring classic characters from the corporation’s Mickey Mouse franchise. The alternate broadcast will air on ESPN2, Disney+, and ESPN+ while regular coverage is maintained on ABC and ESPN.

Labeled “Dunk the Halls,” the program will depict the Knicks-Spurs game with animated players emulating the movement of the real participants on the Madison Square Garden court. The animated version will be held on a computer-generated court in a virtual recreation of Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park. The animated recreation of the Christmas Day match will be accomplished through Sony’s “Beyond Sports” technology.

“Each Spurs and Knicks player will appear as a motion-enabled, animated player for the special Christmas matchup,” a release from ESPN reads. “Through state-of-the-art real-time visualization technology enabled by Sony’s Beyond Sports, combined with Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations’ optical tracking, fans watching Dunk the Halls will see every three-pointer, dunk, layup, pass, and more from the real-life Spurs vs. Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in New York as it happens.”

Monica McNutt, one of the Knicks’ primary radio voices on ESPN New York, will be on the call for the Disney event alongside Drew Carter. Disney character Daisy Duck will handle sideline duties, one of many animated antics likely aimed at younger viewers.

In addition to Daisy, the broadcast will feature a storyline of Mickey Mouse asking Santa Claus to bring NBA stars to Walt Disney World. Mickey is also set to compete in a dunk contest during halftime of the Knicks-Spurs game while other characters will give pregame and halftime speeches to the respective participants.

Alternate broadcasts have grown in popularity especially when it comes to attracting younger viewers. Disney and ESPN previously staged an NBA production with the help of characters from the Marvel Comics franchises while “The Simpsons” will take over the NFL game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 9.

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