Mumbai: The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) today announced a multi-year partnership to power the league’s next generation of innovation. As part of the agreement, 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.
A centerpiece of the collaboration will be the launch of NBA Inside the Game powered by AWS, a new basketball intelligence platform designed to transform billions of data points into compelling insights and interactive experiences. Built on AWS’s industry-leading AI infrastructure, the platform aims to reimagine how fans engage with the game across live broadcasts, the NBA App, NBA.com, and the league’s social channels.
“Partnering with AWS provides 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,” said NBA Executive Vice President and Head of Media Operations and Technology Ken DeGennaro. “AWS has a proven track record of delivering unique statistical insights and offering transformative experiences that will resonate with NBA fans around the world.”
“At AWS, we’re excited by the NBA’s vision to push the boundaries of what’s possible in sports,” said AWS Vice President of Professional Services & Agentic AI Francessca Vasquez. “This partnership will showcase how cloud and AI can reimagine the game of basketball – from generating new insights to creating experiences that bring fans closer to the game they love. Together, we’re delivering technology that not only enhances live broadcasts and digital platforms, but also transforms how players, coaches, and fans understand basketball.”
AI-Powered Advanced Stats
The partnership will introduce a new advanced statistics platform that processes the NBA’s player tracking data with AI and machine learning to generate real-time insights. Among the groundbreaking metrics are:
- Defensive Box Score – quantifies individual defensive contributions by detecting primary defenders in real-time and introducing new metrics such as ball pressure, double teams, and defensive switches.
- Shot Difficulty – evaluates every shot attempt with factors like player orientation, defensive contest, and positioning, providing Expected Field Goal % for deeper context on scoring attempts.
- Gravity – measures the defensive attention a player draws, quantifying how much space they create for teammates, even without the ball.
Play Finder: Reimagining Basketball Intelligence
The NBA and AWS will also debut Play Finder, a first-of-its-kind AI technology that analyzes player movements across thousands of games. Powered by Amazon Bedrock and Amazon SageMaker, the system enables instant search and retrieval of similar plays, offering fans, broadcasters, and teams new insights into basketball strategy. Future iterations will extend Play Finder to fans via the NBA App for interactive exploration of game tactics.
Global Reach and Fan Engagement
The NBA App, NBA.com, and NBA League Pass will now run on AWS, enabling the league to deliver personalized, in-language content and immersive experiences to fans worldwide. The partnership also expands the NBA’s strategic relationship with Amazon. Beginning this season, Prime Video kicks off its landmark 11-year media rights agreement with 66 regular-season games, debuting with a marquee doubleheader on Oct. 24: Celtics vs. Knicks (7:30 p.m. ET) and Lakers vs. Timberwolves (10 p.m. ET).
