It’s only a matter of time before athletes are replaced with robots, and Boston Dynamics just unveiled the closest thing we’ve seen to unseating NBA players. Meet “Handle.”
Meet the 6’5 robot with a 48” vertical that will take over the NBA one day
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Handle is a research robot that took the concept of combining wheels with human-link legs, and the results are totally creepy. The robot can motor at 9 miles per hour, it’s 6’5 and has an impressive 4 foot vertical.
Yes, most humans can run faster and there are certainly taller players in the NBA than Handle, but its vert matches up with some of the highest in NBA history. Couple this with the fact than unlike fleshy meat players, Handle doesn’t get injured and never needs to be subbed out and we have the future.
Plus, the robot is made out of metal and lacks all human notions of fear and self protection. Draymond Green can kick handle in the nuts all game long and Handle simply will not care.
Well, basketball had a good run — but robots are coming.
