What is Liam Nikuro and how did he get into the NBA bubble?
- Washington Wizards trailblazer Hachimura has been followed around the NBA ‘bubble’ by ‘virtual influencer’ Nikuro
- Founder of Tokyo-based CGI company 1Sec ‘convinced’ this is just the start and plans 2020 Olympics roll-out
History-making rookie Rui Hachimura trudged off the court having finished what was his last game in the NBA’s “bubble” earlier this month. The first – and only – Japanese first-round draft pick scored a team-high 20 points for the Washington Wizards in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Needless to say the 6-foot-8 (2.03m) forward would have preferred there to be his usual adoring fans in the stands – but he got the next best thing.
Enter Liam Nikuro, a music producer, model and self-professed Hachimura fanboy. He is mixed Japanese-American (coincidentally, Hachimura is mixed Japanese-Beninese), has nearly 15,000 Instagram followers and loves ramen.
Nikuro can be seen taking pre-game photos, helping his fellow countryman in warm-ups, and even standing on the court during the action. What makes him unique to others in Orlando’s sealed Walt Disney Resort is that he is invisible to the naked eye.
Nikuro is technically less than two years old. He is Japan’s first male “virtual influencer” – that is, a computer-generated human projected into life through 3D technology and artificial intelligence – and the first of such kind in the NBA.
“The trend of using virtual influencers for marketing will continue to increase due to the pandemic. Just as Liam can create content within the NBA bubble, virtual influencers are completely immune to viruses,” said Hirokuni “Genie” Miyaji, founder and CEO of 1Sec, the Tokyo-based company behind it all.