Pop-A-Shot Brings National Competition Energy to NBA Summer League

This year at NBA Summer League fans weren’t just watching the game; they were stepping into it. The fan-favorite Pop-A-Shot zone was buzzing all tournament long, and for the first time ever, NBA Summer League served as a regional qualifier for the Pop-A-Shot National Championship, giving fans the chance to turn their arcade skills into a shot at the national stage.

With four Pop-A-Shot Elite machines set up on the Summer League concourse, thousands of fans, media, and team personnel got the opportunity to compete from July 10 to 12. Fans scanned a QR code at the machine to register, locked in their shots, and watched as their scores instantly uploaded to the national leaderboard. As always, anyone could play, but only participants 21 and older were eligible for the national bracket. To raise the stakes, players who scored at least 40 points unlocked a bonus round to boost their totals.

Open play ran each day from 11:30 a.m. (when doors opened) until 8:00 p.m. Over the three days, every high score jumped straight to the leaderboard, with fans chasing the top spot in hopes of punching their ticket to the 2025 National Championship. 

Pop-A-Shot also staged games in the arena tunnel for NBA players, team staff, media, and even inserted halftime matchups into select games. One moment came during the Hornets vs. 76ers game, when two fans got to battle it out live in a Pop-A-Shot showdown, complete with on-court commentary by Bojo and Lethal Shooter.

Over at Portal 20, the Pop-A-Shot zone continued to draw crowds of all ages, with daily bracket-style mini tournaments that kept fans engaged long after tip-off. As VSL Intern Teague Stanley put it, “Pop-A-Shot is one of, if not my favorite, games on the concourse.”

From the roar of the crowd inside Thomas & Mack to the rapid-fire buckets at Portal 20, Pop-A-Shot proved that at Summer League, everyone can be part of the game, and for one special competitor, that game became the ticket to nationals.