/nba-data

name: nba-data
description: |
  NBA data via ESPN public endpoints, the NBA live CDN, and NBA Stats (stats.nba.com) — scores, standings, rosters, schedules, game summaries, play-by-play, injuries, futures, depth charts, leaders, and news, plus an analytics backend: advanced ratings, per-shot court coordinates, career splits, and history to 1946. Zero config, no API keys.

  Use when: user asks about NBA scores, standings, team rosters, schedules, game stats, box scores, play-by-play, injuries, transactions, betting futures, depth charts, team/player statistics, NBA news, shot charts, advanced ratings/pace, career stats, or historical NBA seasons.
  Don't use when: user asks about WNBA (use wnba-data), college basketball (use cbb-data), or other sports.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: machina-sports
  version: "0.1.0"

NBA Data

Before writing queries, consult `references/api-reference.md` for endpoints, ID conventions, and data shapes.

Setup

Before first use, check if the CLI is available:

which sports-skills || pip install sports-skills

If `pip install` fails with a Python version error, the package requires Python 3.10+. Find a compatible Python:

python3 --version  # check version
# If < 3.10, try: python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills
# On macOS with Homebrew: /opt/homebrew/bin/python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills

No API keys required.

Quick Start

Prefer the CLI — it avoids Python import path issues:

sports-skills nba get_scoreboard
sports-skills nba get_standings --season=2025
sports-skills nba get_teams

CRITICAL: Before Any Query

CRITICAL: Before calling any data endpoint, verify:

• Season year is derived from the system prompt's `currentDate` — never hardcoded.
• If only a team name is provided, call `get_teams` to resolve the team ID before using team-specific commands.

Choosing the Season

Derive the current year from the system prompt's date (e.g., `currentDate: 2026-02-18` → current year is 2026).

• **If the user specifies a season**, use it as-is.
• **If the user says "current", "this season", or doesn't specify**: The NBA season runs October–June. If the current month is October–December, the active season year matches the current year. If January–June, the active season started the previous calendar year (use that year as the season).

Commands

| Command | Description | |---|---| | `get_scoreboard` | Live/recent NBA scores | | `get_standings` | Standings by conference | | `get_teams` | All 30 NBA teams | | `get_team_roster` | Full roster for a team | | `get_team_schedule` | Schedule for a specific team | | `get_game_summary` | Detailed box score and scoring plays | | `get_leaders` | NBA statistical leaders | | `get_news` | NBA news articles | | `get_play_by_play` | Full play-by-play for a game | | `get_win_probability` | Win probability chart data | | `get_schedule` | Schedule for a specific date or season | | `get_injuries` | Injury reports across all teams | | `get_transactions` | Recent transactions | | `get_futures` | Futures/odds markets | | `get_depth_chart` | Depth chart for a team | | `get_team_stats` | Team statistical profile | | `get_player_stats` | Player statistical profile | | `find_nba_player` | Search the NBA Stats player registry (all eras) | | `get_nbastats_game_log` | League game log via NBA Stats — history to 1946, carries NBA game ids | | `get_nbastats_player_career` | Career stats season by season via NBA Stats | | `get_nbastats_team_stats` | League team stats via NBA Stats — advanced ratings, pace, four factors | | `get_nbastats_shot_chart` | Per-shot court coordinates via NBA Stats | | `get_nbastats_play_by_play` | Play-by-play with coordinates for past seasons via NBA Stats | | `get_nbastats_advanced_boxscore` | Advanced box score (ratings, usage) via NBA Stats | | `get_live_scoreboard` | Real-time scores. Primary cdn.nba.com, fallback ESPN | | `get_live_boxscore` | Real-time box score. Primary cdn.nba.com, fallback ESPN | | `get_live_playbyplay` | Real-time play-by-play, most recent plays first | | `get_player_live_stats` | Real-time stats for one player in today's games |

See `references/api-reference.md` for full parameter lists and return shapes.

Shaping Long NBA Stats Results

`get_nbastats_game_log`, `get_nbastats_team_stats` and `get_nbastats_shot_chart` accept `sort_by`, `descending`, `limit` and `fields`, so you can ask for the rows and columns you need instead of a full season:

# Miami's five highest-scoring games, four columns each
sports-skills nba get_nbastats_game_log --season=2025 --team=MIA \
  --sort_by=pts --limit=5 --fields=wl,pts

• `sort_by`: one column to sort by. Numbers (and numeric strings) sort numerically; missing values always go last.
• `descending`: `true` (default) or `false`; only used with `sort_by`.
• `limit`: positive integer, applied after sorting.
• `fields`: comma-separated keep-list. The identity columns below and the `sort_by` column are always kept.
• An unknown `sort_by`/`fields` column returns an error listing the valid columns.
• With any of these set, the response adds `total_rows` (matching rows before `limit`) and `returned_rows`. With none set, output is unchanged. They are applied after the fetch, so they never change the upstream request or its replay entry.

| Command | Always kept by `fields` | |---------|-------------------------| | `get_nbastats_game_log` | `game_id`, `game_date`, `team_abbreviation`, `matchup` | | `get_nbastats_team_stats` | `team_id`, `team_name`, `team_abbreviation` | | `get_nbastats_shot_chart` | `game_id`, `game_date`, `period` |

Column names are NBA.com's, lowercased (`pts`, `fg3m`, `plus_minus`, `shot_distance`).

Using ESPN and NBA Stats Together

The `get_nbastats_*` commands read stats.nba.com — the analytics layer (advanced ratings, shot coordinates, deep history) that ESPN's endpoints do not carry. The two sources use unrelated id systems:

• **Game ids.** NBA Stats uses 1