{"id":683902,"date":"2026-06-04T12:49:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T12:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/683902\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T12:49:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T12:49:15","slug":"absolutely-pathetic-calls-mount-for-espn-to-ditch-ai-graphics-after-bizarre-tony-parker-image-on-nba-finals-broadcast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/683902\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2019Absolutely Pathetic\u2019 \u2014 Calls Mount for ESPN to Ditch AI Graphics After Bizarre Tony Parker Image on NBA Finals Broadcast"},"content":{"rendered":"

The San Antonio Spurs<\/a> and New York Knicks<\/a> faced off in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center on Wednesday, with the ESPN on ABC broadcast attempting to convey the matchup\u2019s historical gravity.<\/p>\n

However, a bizarre, seemingly AI-generated image of Spurs legend Tony Parker featured in the telecast sparked bewilderment and outrage, with some across the NBA world demanding an explanation.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

ESPN Faces Backlash for Incorporating AI into Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals Broadcast<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s showdown, in which the Knicks prevailed 105-95, marked a significant occasion for both sides. While San Antonio<\/a> appeared in its first Finals contest since 2014, New York was on the league\u2019s biggest stage for the first time since 1999.<\/p>\n

The Spurs are pursuing their sixth championship, with their previous five coming during the Tim Duncan<\/a> era from 1999 to 2014. Parker was by Duncan\u2019s side for four of those titles, with the efficient, crafty playmaker earning Finals MVP honors after San Antonio swept the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> in the 2007 NBA Finals.<\/p>\n

While ESPN had countless photos to choose from Parker\u2019s illustrious 17-year Spurs tenure, the network opted to use AI to spotlight the six-time All-Star while heading to a commercial break. The NBA community on X was quick to notice that something was off about the image, prompting strong reactions.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cAI sucks. This isn\u2019t Tony Parker. Do better. Gross,\u201d WFLA sports anchor Jeff Dubrof slammed ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is lame as hell, man. No reason at all to use AI here,\u201d another user opined<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, this was absolutely pathetic work,\u201d Synthetic Sports declared<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cCould ESPN really not find a genuine shot of Tony Parker as they cut to an ad break? Just had to use AI,\u201d journalist Jon Healy questioned<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis should warrant an immediate explanation and apology,\u201d one user demanded<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cESPN couldn\u2019t show a real video of Tony Parker after their championships? That AI animation was wild,\u201d Dallas reporter Landon Thomas wondered<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes ESPN know Tony Parker has 4 rings in real life and they don\u2019t need to use AI \ud83d\ude02,\u201d Old NBA Tweets quipped<\/a>.<\/p>\n

MORE: \u2018MONSTER,\u2019 \u2018Captain Clutch\u2019 \u2014 NBA World Erupts Over Jalen Brunson\u2019s \u2018COLD-BLOODED\u2019 Heroics in Game 1 of Finals<\/a><\/p>\n

Compounding the controversy, others pointed out<\/a> that ESPN\u2019s graphic was based on a real photo of Parker but was \u201caltered for no apparent reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear why the network preferred to use an uncanny version of Parker celebrating a title over the original image. Regardless, if calls continue to mount for change, ESPN may be forced to keep it simple heading into Friday\u2019s Game 2 clash in San Antonio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks faced off in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":683903,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[297472,8174,1062,352,36783,355,5489,361,6999,2116,99,9752,31189],"class_list":["post-683902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-2007-nba-finals","tag-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-dallas","tag-espn","tag-jalen-brunson","tag-nba","tag-nba-finals","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-spurs","tag-sports","tag-tim-duncan","tag-tony-parker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=683902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/683903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=683902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=683902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=683902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}