By Mallory Mattingly
ESPN’s latest effort to use AI went awry when a legendary photo from a previous NBA Finals was altered by the tech.
The photo was of San Antonio Spurs legend Tony Parker after he had just won an NBA Championship. However, the AI-edited photo drew widespread criticism, which resulted in it being deleted.
ESPN used an AI-edited photo of Tony Parker during the NBA Finals 🏀
They’re now ‘evaluating’ their use of the tech after the internet widely clowned them for it
(via @FOS) pic.twitter.com/0NpZeXG5Ve
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) June 4, 2026
Parker wasn’t the only former NBA legend who fell victim to AI. Former Boston Celtics star Bill Russel and Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant were also used in AI-generated photos.
What’s confusing is why ESPN would use AI when they had the original photo.
Related: Is AI Coming for the NBA?
ESPN explained to Front Office Sports that the goal was to “help create several live portraits” for the network’s Game 1 broadcast presentation.
ESPN “views the use of the popular but controversial tech as ‘an experiment,’ and says it is ‘evaluating’ whether or not it will continue to use the technology” in the future, FOS reported.
But basketball fans aren’t having it.
“It’s so bad. Just use real pictures that actually happened,” one person said.
“I just learned, from this post, that it was an image of Tony Parker. When I saw this video live, I kept asking people who this was, and we could not figure it out. It was so bad. To think a rich company with resources didn’t see how bad it was,” another wrote.
Someone else commented, “An experiment to see if we will put up with it as consumers. They will find out the same thing that all companies have figured out post covid. We don’t like it, but we also don’t have a choice, and the corps have all the power. The free market is gone.”
This now calls into question whether the NBA will move forward with its decision of AI automation in its officiating.
“We’re going to move to a system like that, where that whole category of calls will be automatic…Those calls will be done by an AI automated system, with cameras lined around the court,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said on THE PAT MCAFEE SHOW late last month. “And it will take all of those so-called objective calls out of the hands of the referees. It’ll be instantaneous, it’ll be automatic. Just play on…You won’t have to deal with challenges on those calls.”
“I think in terms of replay, we’re going to get to the point fairly quickly where, for example, on out-of-bounds plays…those kinds of calls will become automatic,” he added,
AI automation in officiating might have it’s place, but will the technology be able to keep up with the fast-paced play in the NBA?
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