Supernova Award Category

The Problem

The NBA wanted to provide teams, media, and fans with access to advanced analytics for a deeper understanding of the game in real time.  SAP wanted to showcase SAP HANA’s real-time in-memory data platform’s capability.  As part of the NBA and SAP partnership, the goals are to grow and celebrate the game of basketball on a global basis with the latest technology from SAP, SAP HANA. As an organization that has been around for close to 70 years the NBA has a huge database of statistics on games, teams, players and virtually every other conceivable aspect of the sport.  Making the vast collection of statistics available to the NBA’s global fan base and providing the optimal digital experience was previously not possible.   Hence fans were able to view site data only within limited and pre-defined categories, and they had to wait for nightly processes to complete to gain access to the full library of statistics.

The Solution

The traditional data warehouse methods that require setting up cubes & expecting you to anticipate queries fans would run wasn't going to work. We conducted a POC using the SAP HANA platform to determine if it could handle tens-of-thousands of concurrent fans to deliver unprecedented statistical experience on NBA.com/Stats. When it came to implementing, the NBA teamed up with the SAP Services organization to ensure a smooth rollout of the new technology, resulted in a one-stop source for all NBA statistics that is now used by enthusiastic fans, the media and all 30 NBA teams. Implementing it in such a short period of time wouldn’t have been possible without SAP’s expertise.

NBA.com/Stats will allow users to interact and analyze official league, team, and player statistics in real-time via an intuitive, highly visual interface. In addition, content from NBA.com/Stats can be easily shared with others via social networks Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

The results

The site, NBA.com/Stats, offers an in-depth experience to anyone who follows the game. Everything the teams, fans, and the media need to know is now immediately available. Users can slice and dice the data and look at it however they wish to track every amazing point, rebound, and blocked shot in near-real time. Media use the site to develop compelling story lines, avid fans  research the perfect fantasy team, and the casual fan learns more about the game.

SAP HANA has dramatically improved our ability to engage with the growing global fan base through NBA.com/Stats. By enabling faster data and video uploads and supporting innovative interactive capabilities, which is powered by SAP HANA, website traffic has increased by over 65 percent and boosted the average time spent by visitors on the site by approximately 60 percent.The site provides NBA fans with real-time video and data on games and allows them to learn more about the sport via an easy and intuitive interface for accessing historical data. The statistical data on the site can be viewed in more than 4.5 quadrillion combinations giving an unparalleled resource for everything fans and media want to know about the game. Additionally, we continue to engage fans through various digestible, stats-based activations such as infographics on social media.

Metrics

NBA.com/Stats averages about six million unique visitors per month and we expected tens of thousands of concurrent users likely to be on the stats page firing queries at any moment. With our newly developed solution we have achieved:

Over 65% increase in the number of visitors to the NBA site between the 2012-2013 and the 2013-2014 seasonsApproximately 60% increase in the amount of time spent by fans on NBA website in the 2013-14 season compared to the previous season4.5 quadrillion possible combinations for viewing statistics on the NBA website.The website can easily support 20,000 concurrent users at any given timeFive minutes after a game, all related data are updated to the website

Dating back to the inaugural 1946-47 season, every NBA box score will be available including memorable games such as Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962 and Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game in 2006.

• Comprehensive shooting charts for offensive and defensive performance providing visual shot displays, “hot spots,” & more.

• The best two through five man lineup combinations over the last six seasons.  Combinations can be sorted based on a variety of statistical breakdowns

•In-depth Statistical Breakdowns: Per possession, clutch, efficiency, player/team comparisons and additional in-depth statistics with many breakdown options.

•Complete individual statistical pages for every player in NBA history.

The Technology

The NBA & SAP worked together to implement SAP HANA to run the league’s new statistical offering.The statistics & video captured/used during NBA games flow back into the SAP HANA. The speed & performance of SAP’s in-memory computing technology makes it possible for users to split, filter & run calculations in near real-time & fast data loads let the NBA add new statistics following a game to the website & give it to our fans that is easy for them to understand

Disruptive Factor

Through close collaboration at both technology & business level between NBA & SAP HANA team, the NBA has embraced the latest technology to deliver a website that provides fans, media and players with immersive interactive advanced statistical experience.  “Engaging with our fans is the most important thing that we can do and making sure that they feel close to the game.”  - Mark Tatum, Deputy Commissioner, National Basketball Association.   Ever since the first NBA game in 1946, the league has been generating excitement and statistics. We are using the power of SAP HANA to provide teams, media and fans with access to ground. -breaking statistics and a deeper understanding of the game. Basketball fans have instant access to the NBA’s entire history of official statistics.

Shining Moment

For the first time, fans have direct access to a league’s entire history and its entire database of situational stats and diagrams on NBA.com/Stats, which was previously only available to scouts & media.  All the data from the arena is posted to the database in sub seconds and available within five minutes after the game. Video highlights of plays are also available for fans to see in real time.