The NBA has teamed up with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to introduce a new era of basketball intelligence that blends data with storytelling. The partnership will roll out NBA Inside the Game, powered by AWS, a platform that delivers advanced, real-time statistics across the NBA App, NBA.com, and the league’s social channels.
Rather than using just the conventional box scores, the fans will be given access to AI powered stats that uncover the game’s under the radar details. To illustrate, a Defensive Box Score identifies the player a certain guard and keeps a record of the activities such as pressure, switches, and double teams.
Shot Difficulty shows the degree of difficulty of every shot attempt by the addition of defender proximity, shooting angle, and positioning. Additionally, a stat called Gravity defines the extent of defensive focus that a star gets even when not holding the ball. These new metrics are the perfect means to give the previously unspoken side of the game.
Furthermore, the NBA and AWS developed Play Finder, an AI tool that combs through thousands of past plays to identify patterns and strategies. Broadcasters will use this feature to provide historical comparisons in real time, while coaches and analysts gain new ways to study film. In the future, fans may even explore strategy at a deeper level through generative AI built on player tracking data.
This partnership also fits into the NBA’s broader global strategy. The league runs one of the world’s largest sports communities online, with billions of interactions across apps and social media. By combining AWS infrastructure with the NBA’s content, the organizations plan to offer personalized, in-language experiences that reach fans everywhere.
Meanwhile, the timing aligns with Prime Video’s new NBA media rights deal, which includes 66 regular-season matchups starting this fall. Broadcasts will integrate interactive features alongside the AI-powered stats, giving fans another reason to engage.
How stats are used in the presentation of the basketball game is a major change that accompanies the deal. Traditionally, teams and analysts used numbers only to keep game records, but now they use them to guide fans through the entire game. Supporters might be able to watch the matches not by the usual flashes and results, but as an intricate system where the previously unseen players’ actions and tactics becoming visible.
