National Basketball Association (NBA) players were briefly overshadowed at the NBA Japan Games 2022 when robot mops showboated themselves onto the court in the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, as the crowd cheered them on.
The robot mops, developed by Nissan, moved in unison, moving around the court in a parade-march-like fashion, according to video footage from the game.
At the NBA pre-games, being held at the Saitama Arena, the courts were mopped by robots developed by Nissan. Gotta love the teammates cheering on the mops 😂
pic.twitter.com/3LNsRgy0cL— Spoon & Tamago (@Johnny_suputama) October 5, 2022
“Future is now,” someone else tweeted.
The NBA also utilized the mops during a dance routine, according to another video. The robot mops maneuvered around dancers who used what appeared to be non-robotized mops in their performance, according to the video.
Video I didn’t know what to do with last night: the Warriors bench watching an elaborate, sponsored mop dance. Some mops are robots, beep boop! pic.twitter.com/gqpldVutpY
— Kerith Burke (@KerithBurke) October 1, 2022
It wasn’t the first time floor cleaning seemed to become a main event at a major international basketball game. A floor cleaner stole the show at the 2021 Internation Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup for his high-energy mopping style, a video posted by FIBA demonstrated. (RELATED: Saudi Arabia To Host 2029 Asian Winter Games)
📢 Permission required to shoot free throws:
Referee ❌
Mop guy ✅The legend is back! 😂#FIBAWC | #WinForAll pic.twitter.com/HvGFNyw6qB
— FIBA Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWC) November 26, 2021
The 2022 NBA Japan games were a small set of pre-season games presented by Rakuten and Nissan that took place Friday to Sunday, according to the NBA’s official website. The event saw the Golden State Warriors and the Washington Wizards face off in regular games Friday and Sunday, with a special demonstration of the “convergence of the NBA and popular culture” added to Saturday night’s game, the website stated.