{"id":71987,"date":"2025-10-31T07:33:42","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T23:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/?p=71987"},"modified":"2025-10-20T15:35:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T07:35:46","slug":"nba-aws-announce-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/2025\/10\/31\/nba-aws-announce-partnership\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA, AWS announce partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced a multi-year partnership to power the league\u2019s next generation of innovation as AWS will become the Official Cloud and Cloud AI Partner of the NBA and its affiliate leagues, including the WNBA, NBA G League, Basketball Africa League and NBA Take-Two Media.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">As part of the partnership, the\u00a0NBA\u00a0and\u00a0AWS\u00a0will launch\u00a0NBA\u00a0Inside the Game powered by\u00a0AWS, a new basketball intelligence platform that will turn billions of data points into compelling insights and interactive experiences, reimagining how fans engage with the game of basketball worldwide.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Built on\u00a0AWS\u2019s industry-leading AI infrastructure, the platform will introduce a suite of features that enhance live broadcasts and elevate fan experiences across the\u00a0NBA\u00a0App,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nba.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">NBA.com<\/a>, and the league\u2019s social channels.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cPartnering with\u00a0AWS\u00a0provides us with an opportunity to elevate the live game experience through innovation and offer fans a deeper understanding of the game of basketball for years to come,\u201d said\u00a0NBA\u00a0Executive Vice President and Head of Media Operations and Technology Ken DeGennaro. \u201cAWS\u00a0has a proven track record of delivering unique statistical insights and offering transformative experiences that will resonate with\u00a0NBA\u00a0fans around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;At\u00a0AWS, we\u2019re excited by the\u00a0NBA\u2019s vision to push the boundaries of what\u2019s possible in sports,&#8221; said Francessca Vasquez, Vice President of Professional\u00a0Services\u00a0&amp; Agentic AI at\u00a0AWS. &#8220;This partnership will showcase how cloud and AI can reimagine the game of basketball &#8211; from generating new insights to creating experiences that bring fans closer to the game they love. Together, we\u2019re delivering technology that not only enhances live broadcasts and digital platforms, but also transforms how players, coaches, and fans understand basketball.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>AI-Powered Advanced Stats<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The\u00a0NBA\u00a0will leverage\u00a0AWS\u2019s AI capabilities to provide fans with live stats and comprehensive analytics during games. This new advanced statistics platform processes the\u00a0NBA\u2019s player tracking data, which analyzes the movements of 29 data points per player using machine learning and AI to contextualize in-game developments and generate real-time insights. Fans can deepen their understanding of the game by accessing new statistics via the\u00a0NBA\u00a0App,\u00a0NBA.com and during live\u00a0NBA\u00a0games, including during\u00a0NBA\u00a0on Prime broadcasts.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Throughout the 2025-26 season, the\u00a0NBA\u00a0and\u00a0AWS\u00a0will introduce new AI-powered stats that capture aspects of basketball performance that have not been measured previously, starting with:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Defensive Box Score:\u00a0Reimagining Basketball\u2019s Fundamental Metric<br \/>\nDefensive Box Score quantifies individual defensive contributions that traditional statistics cannot measure. AI algorithms detect which defender is responsible for each offensive player in real-time. Once the primary defender is determined, the traditional box score can now be enhanced by identifying the defender at the time each stat was recorded. Additional new metrics like ball pressure, double teams and defensive switches can now be viewed and tallied as well.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Shot Difficulty:\u00a0The Science of Shooting<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Shot Difficulty transcends traditional make-or-miss statistics to evaluate every aspect of each shot attempt. The difficulty of attempted shots will be quantified\u00a0with new stats such\u00a0as Expected Field Goal % which takes into account various factors such as the shooter&#8217;s orientation and setup, defensive contest details related to pressure, interference, and each player\u2019s positioning on the court. This new statistic gives fans a deeper appreciation for the skill and strategy behind every scoring attempt.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Gravity:\u00a0Quantifying the Invisible Impact<br \/>\nGravity showcases what coaches and analysts have observed for years \u2013 how certain players create advantages for teammates simply by being on the court, even without touching the ball. This new stat measures the level of attention a player receives from the defense, including how closely they\u2019re guarded with or without the ball, to quantify the amount of space they create for their teammates. This revolutionary system processes optical tracking data 60 times per second, using custom neural networks to analyze how defenders react to specific players, while factoring in real-time game context and historical data.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Transforming Basketball Intelligence<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">NBA\u00a0Inside the Game powered by\u00a0AWS\u00a0will also feature a first-of-its-kind technology called \u201cPlay Finder,\u201d which uses AI to analyze and understand player movements across thousands of games.\u00a0 Utilizing\u00a0AWS\u00a0services\u00a0such as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/aws.amazon.com\/bedrock\/?trk=978e13b6-fa37-4872-9001-1825f3ca3367&amp;sc_channel=ps&amp;ef_id=CjwKCAjwz5nGBhBBEiwA-W6XRNvaOmEWXNl8R-MVqnrQCpOvCl864LRQFk4rFbgdi7FN-cwouug6-xoCraIQAvD_BwE:G:s&amp;s_kwcid=AL!4422!3!692006004850!e!!g!!amazon%20bedrock!21048268689!159639953975&amp;gad_campaignid=21048268689&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwz5nGBhBBEiwA-W6XRNvaOmEWXNl8R-MVqnrQCpOvCl864LRQFk4rFbgdi7FN-cwouug6-xoCraIQAvD_BwE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Amazon\u00a0Bedrock<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/aws.amazon.com\/sagemaker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Amazon\u00a0SageMaker<\/a>, the feature will enable instant search and retrieval of similar plays, laying the foundation for future generative AI integrations built on player tracking data.\u00a0 Play Finder will help fans and broadcasters learn common offensive strategies and explore deeper insights by combining play results with advanced analytics.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">A real-time alert system within Play Finder will enable commentators to instantly provide historical context and strategic insights, making every live game more engaging, educational, and insightful for viewers.\u00a0\u00a0NBA\u00a0teams will have direct access to the ML models powering Play Finder to improve their front office and coaching workflows.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Future iterations of Play Finder will allow fans to explore basketball strategy with unprecedented depth on the\u00a0NBA\u00a0App.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Global Fan Engagement<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The\u00a0NBA\u00a0App,\u00a0NBA.com and\u00a0NBA\u00a0League Pass, delivering year-round\u00a0NBA\u00a0coverage and programming to fans around the world, will run on\u00a0AWS. Through this partnership with\u00a0AWS, the\u00a0NBA\u00a0will accelerate basketball\u2019s growth worldwide by offering fans new and unique opportunities to understand team strategy and the concepts that lead to execution on the court. Additionally, the\u00a0NBA\u00a0and\u00a0AWS\u00a0will deliver in-language content and personalized experiences to fans across platforms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv7297593118MsoNormal\">The\u00a0NBA\u2019s partnership with\u00a0AWS\u00a0broadens its strategic relationship with\u00a0Amazon. This season marks the start of Prime Video\u2019s landmark 11-year media rights\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/press.amazonmgmstudios.com\/us\/en\/press-release\/amazon-prime-video-and-the-nba-announce-landmark-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">agreement<\/a>\u00a0with 67 regular-season\u00a0NBA\u00a0matchups streaming on Prime Video globally, and a suite of new interactive features set to debut.\u00a0 The first night of the\u00a0NBA\u00a0on Prime will feature a doubleheader on Friday, Oct. 24 during the first week of the season, with the Celtics visiting the Knicks (7:30 p.m. ET) and the Lakers hosting the Timberwolves (10 p.m. ET) in two rematches from the\u00a0NBA\u00a0Playoffs 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As part of the partnership, the\u00a0NBA\u00a0and\u00a0AWS\u00a0will launch\u00a0NBA\u00a0Inside the Game powered by\u00a0AWS, a new basketball intelligence platform that will turn billions of data points into compelling insights and interactive experiences, reimagining how fans engage with the game of basketball worldwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":71988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[798,3036,96],"class_list":["post-71987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","tag-amazon-web-services","tag-aws","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71987"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71989,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71987\/revisions\/71989"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}