A new partnership between the NBA and AWS will utilize tracking data and AI learning to create new statistics, adding a new dimension to hoops.
The NBA’s new partnership with Amazon is much more expansive than the 11-year media rights streaming package on Prime Video. The league also forged a new multi-year agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to become the official cloud and cloud AI partner of the NBA, WNBA, G League, Basketball Africa League, and NBA Take-Two Media, the companies announced Wednesday.
The most interesting and exciting feature of the partnership is a new basketball intelligence platform called “NBA Inside the Game,” which will transform billions of data points into insights that will change the way we think about and discuss the game of basketball. AWS will now be able to access the NBA’s player tracking data, which analyzes the movements of 29 data points per player using AI and machine learning. Over the course of the season, the NBA, through AWS, will introduce new AI-powered statistics that have not been previously measured and will publicize these new metrics on NBA.com, the NBA app, social channels, and during live games, including Prime Video broadcasts.
“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,” Ken DeGennaro, the NBA’s Executive Vice President and Head of Media Operations and Technology, said in a press release.
The first three they’re introducing, with more to come during the 2025-26 campaign, are beyond fascinating and promising as they make the intangibles tangible:
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Defensive Box Score
It’s always been vastly easier to measure an NBA player’s offensive impact than his defensive contributions. Steals, blocks, and deflections only scratch the surface of the way a defender can change the trajectory of a game. AI algorithms will now be able to detect which defender is responsible for each offensive player in real-time, adding a primary defender note to enhance every recorded traditional box score stat. New metrics, including ball pressure, double teams, and defensive switches, will now be tallied and accessible as part of this new suite of statistics.
Shot Difficulty
For more than 75 years, all traditional box scores showed were makes and misses, along with a player’s resulting field goal percentage. Now, the difficulty of each field goal attempt will be measured by an expected field goal percentage, which takes into account the shooter’s orientation and setup, the positioning of each player on the court, and defensive pressure and interference. From this point forward, when a player like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hits a game-winning shot, you can also quantify his likelihood of sinking that critical bucket.
Gravity
NBA fans around the world can tell when a player like Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, or Jalen Brunson attracts a disproportionately large share of the opposing defense’s attention — how they can create advantages just by being on the court, not even by touching the ball.
Now, the league will be able to measure the level of defensive attention a player receives, including how closely they’re guarded both with and without the ball, to quantify the amount of space they create for their teammates. AWS AI tracking will process, per the release, “optical tracking data 60 times per second,” by using custom neural networks to analyze how defenders react to specific players, while factoring in real-time game context and historical data.”
“At AWS, we’re excited by the NBA’s vision to push the boundaries of what’s possible in sports,” Francessca Vasquez, AWS Vice President of Professional Services and Agentic AI, said in a press release. “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.”
“NBA Inside the Game” will also feature a “Play Finder” tool, which utilizes AI to analyze player movements across thousands of games. This enables instant search and retrieval of similar plays through AWS services, including Amazon Bedrock and Amazon SageMaker. This will enable fans and broadcasters to learn and more easily explain common offensive strategy by combining play results with the advanced analytics Inside the Game will provide, as well as provide historical context to any number of individual plays and actions. New aspects of team strategy will be unlocked, offering fans around the world new ways to engage and learn about the game they love.
Thanks to this new NBA-AWS partnership, how we watch, think, discuss, and comprehend the NBA will never be the same again.
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