NBA Workflow Guide

Competition Feeds

Standings, Rankings & Brackets

NBA standings are available for the league, conference and division and includes data fields such as Wins, Losses, Winning %, Conference & Division Wins/Losses, Home vs Away, Last Ten Games, Points Per Game For/Against, Streak, Games Back, and Conference/Division Rank.

Current Season Standings:

Standings are specific to the season type being requested (Pre, Reg, Post).

• Preseason Standings - Includes wins and losses that are exclusively related to the Preseason and stop updating during Game 1 of the Regular Season.
• Regular Season Standings - Includes wins and losses that are exclusively related to the Regular Season and stop updating once the postseason begins. In conjunction with the schedule, this can be used to build a playoff bracket, as described below.
• Postseason Standings - Includes wins and losses that are exclusively related to the postseason and do not carry over any regular season or preseason wins and losses. Note that this does not include information to build a playoff bracket; that information can be found within the Schedules & Game Day Info feed alongside the Regular Season standings. 

NBA In-Season Tournament: 

In-season tournament brackets can be deduced via the InseasonTournament flag = 'true' flag on the schedules record to build your own bracket view for the tournament. In-season tournament games and statistics will be counted toward regular season totals with the exception of the in-season tournament championship game, which is an exhibition game. Note that the in-season tournament championship game will be denoted with SeasonType= 6 (EXH)

Bracket Construction:

Because the NBA postseason playoff brackets are fully predictable based on standings, you can generate them using regular season standings followed by the winner of the postseason games.

Play-In Tournament:

First comes the Play-In Tournament, where the teams with ConferenceRank 7 through 10 square off.

• ConferenceRank 7 meets ConferenceRank 8 and the winner proceeds directly to the NBA Playoffs as No. 7 seed. The loser remains in the Play-In Tournament.
• ConferenceRank 9 meets ConferenceRank 10. The loser is eliminated. The winner faces the loser of the game between 7 and 8.

These two remaining teams - newly-crowned seeds 7 and 8 - join the top six ConferenceRank teams from each conference in the Playoffs.

NBA Playoffs:

For each Conference, the First Round works as follows:

• ConferenceRank 1 faces the No. 8 seed from the Play-Ins.
• ConferenceRank 4 faces ConferenceRank 5.
• ConferenceRank 3 faces ConferenceRank 6.
• ConferenceRank 2 faces the No. 7 seed from the Play-Ins.

In the Conference Semifinals:

• The winner of 1/8 faces the winner of 4/5.
• The winner of 3/6 faces the winner of 2/7.

In the Conference Finals:

• The winner of 1/8 vs. 4/5 faces the winner of 3/6 vs. 2/7.
• Then the two Conference Finals winners - one from each Conference - meet in the NBA Finals

Teams, Players & Rosters

It is important to note that Teams, Players, and Rosters DO NOT contain any additional information regarding player stats, team stats, depth charts, injuries, transactions, and lineups. For those categories, please see Depth Charts, Lineups, & Injuries.

NBA Teams, Players, and Rosters all update regularly throughout the calendar year. During the NBA offseason, expect to see frequent updates as players are cut, traded, and signed to rosters in anticipation of the regular season. 

• Player Profiles include name, roster statsu position, jersey, height/weight, hometown, high school & college, and experience.
• Team Profiles include name, division/conference, team colors (hexadecimal format), head coach, and home stadium/arena.
• All NBA PlayerID's should be expected to start with 200.
• Incoming NBA rookies will receive a new PlayerID that is different than their CBB PlayerID.

NBA Draft Coverage

The NBA Draft is covered live by our data operations team.

• Pre-Draft Coverage - The data entry and collection process begin prior to the draft. We create PlayerIDs and player profiles as athletes declare for the draft. Many NBA Draft prospects are created 7-10 days before the upcoming draft. Players who are not created before the draft are created once a team drafts them or they sign as an undrafted free agent.
• Live Draft Coverage – Player records are updated pick-by-pick during the draft. Players are added to their respective teams with a Status= 'Active' and transaction records are created for each draftee.

NBA All Star Game Coverage

• Coverage for the NBA All-Star game is similar to our regular season coverage, providing scores, stats, projections, rosters, and odds. Each all-star team will receive a unique TeamID and rosters will be provided once starters and reserves are announced by the league.

Venues & Officials

Venues:

• NBA arenas remain relatively static but stadium records are created for each neutral site game, as well as any new arenas. When existing arenas receive a name change, the StadiumID will remain the same but the Name field will be updated accordingly.

Officials:

• Referees are updated prior to the start of the regular season, in accordance with the NBA's officiating staff list.
• On each NBA game day, referee assignments are announced around 9:00AM ET. Referee assignments can be found on the Game record shortly after official announcement. Our team monitors for updates throughout the day in case of any unforeseen circumstances that prevent a referee from officiating in the game.
• A Crew Chief, Referee, and Umpire will be assigned for each game. During playoff games, an Alternate referee will also be assigned.

Event Feeds

Schedules & Game Day Info

The NBA schedule is typically released annually around mid-August, though the exact date varies from year to year. SportsDataIO creates game records for the upcoming season immediately following the official NBA announcement, usually within a few hours. 

Each game on the schedule will include detailed information such as date, time (Eastern Time Zone), participating teams, and location (venue). The game object also contains metadata fields such as GameID, season type (preseason, regular season, postseason, exhibition, all-star), and indicators for special events (e.g., InseasonTournament flag).

Games within the in-season tournament are clearly marked using the InseasonTournament flag (true/false). The final of this tournament is classified as an Exhibition (SeasonType= 6) and therefore does not count toward regular season standings. All other in-season tournament games are classified as regular season games and count toward regular season records.

NBA playoff games are created and populated in the schedule feeds once both teams are known and the league has announced the playoff series schedule. If  a series ends prior to the maximum number of scheduled games are played, the originally scheduled but unnecessary games will still appear in the API with a Status = 'NotNecessary'. Games for subsequent playoff rounds are only generated once the previous playoff round is fully completed.

In the event an NBA game is postponed (for reasons such as weather, safety concerns, or scheduling conflicts), the original GameID will receive a Status= 'Postponed' and a new GameID is created for the rescheduled game.

SportsDataIO does not track the NBA Summer League.

Scores & Game State

Scores and Game State are updated live during all games, along with the final score being provided after the game is completed and verified.

• Score includes the score for every quarter plus the final score for both teams.
• Game State includes things like Score, Quarter, Time Remaining,  Possession, Down, Distance, Yard line, Redzone and more. 
• To view the most recent updates for scores and game states, use the Games - by Date (Live & Final) endpoint.

Final Only (No Game State)

• Final score results are delivered after the event is final and are delivered in quarterly and total score values. Final scores are available around 5-10 minutes after each game concludes.
• A full list of available score details can be found here: 
  • Game
  • ScoreBasic

Live & Final (With Game State)

• Live Game coverage is delivered when an event Status field switches from "Scheduled" to "InProgress"
• Game State data is updated alongside all other live in-game data, with a delay approximately 15-20 seconds behind TV broadcast.
• Live scores are delivered in quarterly and total score values.
• Final Scores are available at the conclusion of each event.
• A full list of available game state details can be found here:
  • Game
  • ScoreBasic

Team & Player Stats

Final Only

• NBA team and player stats are delivered after the event is final - typically 5-10 minutes after each game concludes.
• Each game's final player stats are added to a player's and team's Season Stats once the game's final player stats are verified by our team (approximately 1 hour after each game is completed).
• A full list of available stats can be found here:
  • PlayerGame
  • TeamGame
  • PlayerSeason
  • TeamSeason

Live & Final

• NBA team and player Game Stats delivered as "Live" include live stat updates throughout the game, typically 15-20 seconds behind the TV broadcast.
• Each game's final player stats are added to a player's and team's Season Stats once the game's final player stats are verified by our team (approx 1 hour after each game is completed).
• A full list of available stats can be found here:
  • PlayerGame
  • TeamGame

Play by Play

Final Only

• Final Play by Play feeds are available approximately 30 to 60 minutes after the game.
• You can track who is on or off the court at all times by using our play-by-play feed. All substitutions are accounted for during games.
• A full list of available stats can be found here:
  • Play

Live & Final

• Live Play by Play typically updates 15-20 seconds behind the TV broadcast.
• You can track who is on or off the court at all times by using our play-by-play feed. All substitutions are accounted for during games.
• A full list of available stats can be found here:
  • Play

Player Feeds

Depth Charts, Lineups & Injuries

Depth Charts

• Depth charts are updated in real-time throughout the year to account for roster moves, injuries, positional battles, and more.
• Free agents are not assigned any depth chart places at all, no matter their reputation, because depth chart position is necessarily related to a team as well as an individual.
• While official sources are always preferred, credible media reports are also used to determine the latest depth chart news.
• There are significant interdependencies between Injuries, Transactions, and Depth Charts.
  • Players dealing with long-term injuries will have null values associated with their depth chart fields.
  • Players dealing with short-term injuries, if they are likely to miss a few games - will still have a depth chart order associated with them.
    • In such cases, it is important to cross-reference their depth chart information with their InjuryStatus - if someone is ranked top starter for a position, but has an InjuryStatus of Out, their spot on the depth chart will go to the next player down in ranking.

Injuries

• Status: The NBA is unlike the NFL or MLB in that there is no specific roster status associated with injuries, i.e. there is no formal injured reserve or injured list like there is in other sports. Thus, a player dealing with a long-term injury will have an InjuryStatus = Out but will remain with a Status = Active.
  • For this reason, InjuryStatus should be used to determine if a player will play or is likely to miss a game.

• InjuryBodyPart: The body part affected.
• InjuryStartDate: The date at which the player's injury was first verified.
• InjuryNote: A written description of a player's injury, e.g.: "Duren is dealing with an ankle injury and will not take the court for the Pistons."
  • Note that while this written description may contain a predicted return date, this is neither a statistical value returned as a date field, nor one that is guaranteed to be correct. By its nature, projecting returns from injuries is an inexact science, and thus these notes should be used only for guidance.

Projected Lineups

• For future games, these are produced up to 5 days in advance, and are subject to change as the game approaches.
• For today's games, these are available by 9am ET and updated throughout the day.

Confirmed Lineups

• Starting lineups are released by teams typically around 30 minutes before tip-off. We confirm these within minutes of formal release.
• Projected lineups provide the best estimate on who will be taking the court; Confirmed Lineups reflect what is released by each team before tipoff.

Betting Feeds

Game Lines

Pre-Game Lines

• NBA Pre Game lines are made available early on game day or occasionally the night before.
• If a team has multiple days between games, they may be available earlier.
• The NBA All-Star Game has changed to a mini tournament, and this is subject to change. Game lines will become available once they are available from the books.

Pre-Game Lines Plus

• Resulting: See our Betting Guide for available markets with resulting and how it works.
• Line Movement: The Betting Guide also explains how to access the Betting Market endpoints to view an individual market's movement.

In-Play Lines

• In-game odds will begin to populate for moneyline, point spread, and over/under once the game begins.
• Halftime lines are available through the In-Game Odds endpoint. To retrieve these odds, you'll need to call the endpoint during halftime. The lines will continuously update throughout halftime and into the second half. Once the game resumes, you can either stop calling the endpoint or continue to received updated odds as the second half plays out. If you would like to know when the game has reached halftime, please refer to the Quarter field in the Game object.

In-Play Lines Plus

• Resulting: See our Betting Guide for available markets with resulting and how it works.
• Line Movement: The Betting Guide also explains how to access the Betting Market endpoints to view an individual market's movement.

Props

• Team, Game, and Player Props are all covered for each game.
• NBA prop markets are generally made available 72 to 24 hours before game time. This is depending on the preceding game calendar.

Props Plus

• Resulting: See our Betting Guide for available markets with resulting and how it works.
• Line Movement: The Betting Guide also explains how to access the Betting Market endpoints to view an individual market's movement.

Futures

• Team, League, and Player Futures are all covered within the NBA Odds solution. 
• We are at the discretion of the sportsbooks as to when betting markets become available via their API delivery
• NBA Draft lottery futures begin to populate about two weeks before the lottery drawing and are regularly maintained up until the start of the event.
• NBA Draft futures begin to populate 4-6 weeks before the draft and are regularly maintained up until the start of the event.
• NBA Player and Team futures begin to populate in the middle of June and are regularly maintained up until the conclusion of that upcoming season.

Matchups, Trends & Splits

Matchup Stats

NBA Match Ups and Trends are run at the Team level and update regularly as each game occurs.

Betting Splits

NBA Betting Splits begin to populate shortly after Game lines are posted and action is taken by the sportsbooks. Betting Splits are available at the discretion of sportsbooks making the data available.

Fantasy Feeds

Projections

Legacy Projections

• Player game projections are provided through SportsDataIO's proprietary in-house machine learning models and are available 5 days before the game begins. 
• On the day of games, NBA projections for players are customized specifically to that day's game by 9:30 am EST each game day and will be updated every 15 minutes until tip-off.
• Season-long projections for veterans and rookies are generally available around 4-6 weeks before the season begins.
• It is important to know the NBA specific points and scoring system is different across fantasy and DFS operators. To learn more, see our Fantasy Points Calculations.

Salaries, Stats & Points

Salaries & Slates

• NBA salaries and slates are available for FanDuel, DraftKings, and Yahoo.
• As this is an aggregated product, DFS Salaries & Slates become available once we receive them from the various DFS operators. Typically operators publish slates and salaries as early as 24 hours before the contest starts, but may be published closer to the start of a contest.
• New slates should become available in the feed within 30 minutes of an operator publishing them
• Occasionally, for west coast games, DraftKings will release a 4th quarter slate and the start date for the slate will be the day after the game was originally scheduled. In these cases, you will need to call multiple dates to get all slates for a given game. 

Points & Stats

• Fantasy points are calculated according to several scoring systems including DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo, and SportsDataIO's proprietary scoring system.
• It is important to know that the NBA-specific points and scoring system is different across fantasy and DFS operators
• FantasyPointsDraftKings, FantasyPointsFanDuel, and FantasyPointsYahoo fields are all calculated using their classic slate scoring systems.
• Learn more in our Fantasy Points Calculations guide.

News & Images

Player News & Notes

• Player News & Notes provides short-form blurbs about relevant player news throughout the league, updated both in-season and during the off-season, provided by RotoBaller and Rotoworld.
• News Blurbs contain approximately 200 words, and no image.
• RotoBaller tags for each story may include: Top Headlines, Breaking News, Injury, Sit/Start, Waiver Wire, Risers, Fallers, Lineups, Transactions, Free Agents, Prospects/Rookies, Game Recap, Matchup Outlook.
• News is written, edited, and published around-the-clock (24-hour news cycle). However, the news teams are based in the US, so most write-ups are published during daytime hours in the US.

News data can be called at the player or team level. For generic league level news see our previews, recaps, and breaking news data source.

Rotoballer News

NBA RotoBaller news is available directly through a SportsDataIO Endpoint. 

Previews, Recaps & Breaking News

Beyond just player news and notes, SportsDataIO has partnered with Field Level Media and Knup Solutions to support our clients with expanded news services which include:

Editorial Wire Service: This includes more than 30,000 long-form content pieces in total across all leagues (previews, recaps, breaking news) with an associated image attached to each article. Please contact us to learn more about how we can connect you with newswire articles.

Custom News: For bespoke articles created to fit your project, please contact us.

AI-generated news: For procedurally-generated news based on data inputs, please contact us.

Expanded news access is delivered via external sources and for access please reach out to your SportsDataIO Sales Representative or sales@sportsdata.io

• Previews, Recaps, and Breaking News are available year round.
• Your SportsDataIO Client Manager can facilitate an introduction with appropriate news partners.
• These feeds are accessed directly through partner sites and not SportsDataIO endpoints.

Player Headshots

• NBA headshots are available directly through a SportsDataIO Endpoint.
• NBA headshots update in October each year, prior to the start of the regular season.
  • All of our headshots are cropped 1200x1200 pixels with 300 ppi resolution.
  • Headshots are the property of the photographers that take them and the publishers that make them available, and as such we work with major providers to ensure that we have the best in licensed headshots.
  • We offer headshots directly through our own API. These are converted action shots: action photos that are cropped to headshot dimension
  • We make them available either with the original background, or with the background remove
  • SportsDataIO can facilitate contact with other relevant third parties if required. Please contact us with your needs for a quote.