How Huupe Is Bringing The Basketball Court to Life

By Derrick Hemphill | February 2, 2023



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BASKETBALL COURT PHOTO BY DJORDJE PETROVIC/PEXELS
BASKETBALL COURT PHOTO BY DJORDJE PETROVIC/PEXELS

Welcome to a new era of basketball.

The sleek and vivid backboard is the latest addition in a nascent generation of technology where sports equipment captures data to improve athleticism and fitness. Huupe (@huupeofficial) allows players to uniquely participate in the fullness of the game of basketball with an intelligent piece of equipment that collects data and analytics on you, the player, in a way that Peloton and Zwift can only dream of.

Huupe brings basketball brilliantly to life with its pro screen backboard and smart hoop. The backboard can simultaneously stream an NBA-level training video and keep your personal shooting stats on its leaderboard. You can watch your favorite game on Huupe’s 67-inch-by-46.8-inch display screen boosted by Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology. Its built-in webcams and sensors capture user moves, sending data from incredible angles straight to the player profile. “You’re getting real-time analytics and seeing where you rank against Huupe users all over the world,” says co-founder Paul Anton. The accompanying Huupe app captures and stores measurements during training sessions and functions as a remote for streaming.


The Huupe backboard PHOTO COURTESY OF HUUPE
The Huupe backboard PHOTO COURTESY OF HUUPE

Whether trying out for your local basketball team, dreaming of that Division I scholarship or reaching the W NBA, Huupe’s realtime measurements give you a competitive advantage. Huupe’s high-powered cameras are essential to statistical analytics and offer you new and fun advanced categories, like True Shooting Percentage (TS%), swishes, trajectory and wingspan, not just traditional pro stats.

Huupe was conceptualized when Anton and co-founder Lyth Saeed found themselves playing an augmented-reality basketball game Anton developed called Real Shot. The idea of moving Anton’s game to an actual backboard resulted in a prototype they created the next year—and Huupe was born. Armed with their love of basketball and the world’s first smart basketball hoop, the founders led two funding rounds, the last bringing in a solid $5 million. Without a need to market such a remarkable product, angel investor funds have been used almost exclusively on technology. Huupe’s software utilizes computer vision and machine learning for analyzing player data. Saeed elaborates, “[Huupe’s] growth has all been organic. We haven’t spent money on ads, and we don’t have any spokespeople; the product has been speaking for itself thus far, which is a great sign.” Investors include current and former NBA players, such as Toronto Raptors’ Thaddeus Young and Trevor Booker. As the Internet of Things (IoT) and user engagement evolve, one can easily see Huupe strategically placed in entertainment venues and arenas worldwide for basketball lovers and, ultimately, their homes.


Huupe founders Lyth Saeed and Paul Anton PHOTO COURTESY OF HUUPE
Huupe founders Lyth Saeed and Paul Anton PHOTO COURTESY OF HUUPE

“GROWTH HAS ALL BEEN ORGANIC. WE HAVEN’T SPENT MONEY ON ADS, AND WE DON’T HAVE ANY SPOKESPEOPLE; THE PRODUCT HAS BEEN SPEAKING FOR ITSELF THUS FAR, WHICH IS A GREAT SIGN.” –LYTH SAEED

Huupe’s creators enthusiastically share, “It isn’t just a basketball hoop; it’s a full entertainment and workout experience.” Huupe shows your stats on the big screen while streaming your favorite television show or game. Huupe measures your shot’s arch and trajectory and makes it possible to play H-O-R-S-E with a k id from that business trip in Japan. Huupe connects basketball players, and “ for the first time in human history, people will be able to play sports remotely, and that’s just incredible.”


Players enjoying Huupe PHOTO COURTESY OF HUUPE
Players enjoying Huupe PHOTO COURTESY OF HUUPE

Basketball lovers everywhere will be thrilled to up their game with this one-of-a-kind fitness equipment.

Photography by: Courtesy of brand