The Big 12 basketball tournament is ditching slippery LED courts for hardwood

"Obviously the floor is a bit slippery, so I think I just kind of misstepped or did a movement that caused me to slip and kind of ended up in a little unnatural position. The grip issues and injuries led to the decision last night by the coaches of the semifinal teams and Big 12 conference commissioner Brett Yormark to revert the court's floor back to hardwood for the finals."

"we're just not used to playing on it, and so the difficulty is the familiarity of how it responds, and it does respond differently. Am I saying it caused problems? It was a challenge just because we don't play on it enough to get used to how to respond to it. And I think for quick guards and change of direction, it's difficult."

"The LED floors, which were previously used during the 2024 NBA All-Star game at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, display animations and graphics that can also interact with players' movements. They're designed to be softer than hardwood floors while providing the same amount of grip."

The Big 12 conference decided to replace glass-covered LED floors with traditional hardwood at Kansas City's T-Mobile Center for the basketball tournament's semifinal and championship games. The LED floors, previously used during the 2024 NBA All-Star game, feature interactive animations and graphics while providing a softer surface with grip comparable to hardwood. However, during the women's and men's tournament games, multiple players experienced slipping and grip problems. Texas Tech player Christian Anderson suffered a groin injury he attributed to the slippery surface. Coaches and players cited unfamiliarity with the new surface as a significant challenge, particularly for quick guards requiring rapid directional changes. The decision to revert to hardwood was made by semifinal team coaches and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark.

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