Amazon, the e-commerce giant, has deepened its ties to basketball’s NBA by securing a new multi-year deal that will see its Amazon Web Services (AWS) business build a new AI basketball intelligence platform for the league.
Under the deal, AWS becomes the official cloud and cloud partner of the NBA and its affiliate leagues, including the women’s WNBA, NBA G youth league, and Basketball Africa League, as well as its entertainment company, NBA Take-Two Media.
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The new platform will analyse billions of data points and transform them into insights and features for the league’s broadcast partners and first-party digital platforms, which the league will use to attract new fans and engage existing ones.
Specifically, AWS will use its AI capabilities to process live player tracking data to create real-time insights, creating new metrics that have not been measured before.
New metrics will include a ‘defensive box score,’ which will measure defensive contributions to the game by spotting which defender is responsible for each attacker in real time.
AWS’ AI will also identify shot difficulty by analysing a shooter’s orientation, setup, and defensive contest details, including pressure, interference, and the position of opposition players.
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By GlobalDataTracking will also help quantify how players impact a game with their presence on the court, which will be used across thousands of games. AWS will then create a searchable database that can be used to find similar plays across the history of the league.
Ken DeGennaro, the NBA’s head of media operations and technology, said: “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.
“AWS has a proven track record of delivering unique statistical insights and offering transformative experiences that will resonate with NBA fans around the world.”
Francessca Vasquez, vice president of professional services & agentic AI at AWS, said: “At AWS, we’re excited by the NBA’s vision to push the boundaries of what’s possible in sports.
“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.”
The new partnership comes as Amazon airs its first NBA season after securing a $1.8 billion-per-year domestic rights deal that will see it air 67 regular games a season, along with play-off matches, and the knockout stages of the league’s in-season tournament on its Prime Video service for the next 11 years.
For its inaugural season, Amazon has looked to boost its broadcast with several innovations, including a rapid recap function for viewers to catch up on key moments during live games, integrated e-commerce capabilities, advanced statistical overlays, and, most recently, a partnership with US sportsbook FanDuel, which will facilitate real-time betting information during live games.
Along with its domestic rights, Amazon also holds global rights to the NBA, including the NBA Finals series, in key markets, including Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the UK, and Ireland.
The e-commerce giant is also the global distributor of the NBA League Pass, the league’s direct-to-consumer platform.
