AHMAD RASHAD: I am thrilled to be back as the host of the NBA All-Star Technology Summit, now in its 23rd year. Time just flies. And I'm not here alone. Give it up for my co-host, Mr. Bill Murray.
(Applause.)
AHMAD RASHAD: Good morning.
BILL MURRAY: I'm operating at altitude this morning.
AHMAD RASHAD: So, first of all, I want to remind you guys that this summit is strictly off the record. There's got to be no texting, no tweeting, no Instagraming or TikToking any content from today. Was that all of it?
BILL MURRAY: There's no back-washing, there's no double-dipping. Let's keep it neat. Nothing sloppy.
AHMAD RASHAD: All right, so we've got four panels all day today.
BILL MURRAY: That's right. Let me see if I can remember this first one. Stream on, how the rise in streaming services has led to increased competition for consumer attention. Whew. Wow. Man, these mountains really do something to my brain. You like that one.
The next one is called Web3 in '23, what the push for a decentralized Internet means for the future of sports and society.
AHMAD RASHAD: Do you actually really know what that means?
BILL MURRAY: Well, the Internet is centralized now, and we don't want that anymore, do we, folks? We want it decentralized. Right? We want it decentralized.
Couple more. You take a couple.
AHMAD RASHAD: We do have a couple more. The third panel is the ecosystem of influence, how the digital and cultural capital of influencers shapes today's world. And the final panel is the evolving athlete, how performance-enhancing innovation is transforming data, decisions, fandom and sports as we all know it.
BILL MURRAY: As athletes we're all going to be sticking around for that one. We're also going to be hosting two fireside chats. One is going to be with the owner of the Utah Jazz, the founder of Qualtrics, and a guy who is sneaky long off the tee, Mr. Ryan Smith.
AHMAD RASHAD: And the other is a man I've known for about 40 years, he's like family to me, Disney CEO Bob Iger, and the Phoenix Suns All-Star guard, phil- -- what does that say?
BILL MURRAY: It says Phil Esposito. Oh, I'm sorry, it says he's a philanthropist.
AHMAD RASHAD: Philanthropist.
BILL MURRAY: A philanthropist. I'm sorry.
AHMAD RASHAD: And entrepreneur, Chris Paul. We've got a lot to cover today, so let's get this show on the road.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports