The National Basketball Association (NBA) consists of some of the toughest and most talented players in the world. But while dunking and lightning-quick action are a part of the action, this makes severe injury a distinct possibility.

One of the most feared injuries in basketball is a tear in an athlete’s Achilles tendon which can alter or even end a player’s career.  Under the current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s leadership, the league is no longer leaving player health in the hands of fortune. Instead, the NBA is utilizing artificial intelligence and smart technology in a bid to understand and prevent such life-changing injuries.

A Devastating Injury

For a basketball pro, an Achilles tendon rupture is unfortunately often a career-ender. The Achilles tendon links the calf muscle to the bone in the heel and is responsible for the ability of running and jumping, all basic basketball movements. When it ruptures, rehab is extremely slow and arduous, taking a year or longer. Players rarely come back at their prior level of performance.

The explosiveness and quickness that characterized their game is diminished considerably. Such an injury has derailed the careers of countless stars throughout the years, so it is a leading issue for teams as well as for those in management.

What Makes AI Special?

Artificial intelligence, or AI for short, has in recent years begun to change businesses worldwide, including professional sports. AI means making computers incredibly powerful so they can consider enormous amounts of information and look for patterns a human may not recognize. When it comes to sports, it means a computer can watch thousands of hours of game footage and player information in hopes its software can pick up on minuscule details indicative of trouble.

League commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA are supporters of this technology and think it is integral in learning more about player biomechanics. A basketball api specifically allows for this information in a formatted method easy for developers to implement.

How The Tech Works

The NBA’s cutting-edge system is based on gathering huge amounts of information about every player at every game. The league has set up an advanced set of cameras in arenas capable of tracking player movement with remarkable accuracy. These cameras take note of a player’s position on the court a whopping twenty-five times a second and develop a three-dimensional model of a player’s body in motion.

That information includes everything from a player’s speed when he is running to a specific angle in a player’s knee or ankle when he jumps or lands. All this information is inputted into an artificial intelligence program trained to identify movement patterns sufficiently stress-inducing for a player’s Achilles tendon. The system is then able to identify at-risk players and warn their teams before it’s too late.

Data Powering Sports

The requirement for detailed sports information goes a lot further than just injury prevention however. Today’s sports world is a business based on rapid information that is accurate. Media organizations need up-to-the-minute statistics for their broadcast shows, analysis businesses need detailed information for creating content, and app developers for fan experience need real-time information so it can become an interactive experience. This has created an ecosystem for data providers, with Sports API partners like odds88.io playing a significant part in bringing accurate real-time odds to sportsbooks.

Impact On Players

The primary beneficiaries of this AI impact are the players themselves. With the data generated by the AI system, medical and training staff can create personalized programs for each athlete. If the AI detects that a player’s movements are putting them at risk, a team can make adjustments. This could mean changing their workout routine to strengthen certain muscles or scheduling additional rest days to allow their body to recover. In the long run, this could significantly extend player careers.

FAQ

What is the end goal of the NBA’s artificial intelligence initiative?

The main objective is to protect player health by using technology to identify risk factors for serious injuries like tears in the Achilles tendon and prevent their occurrence.

What information does the NBA gather about its players?

The league employs specific cameras in order to gather information about player movement such as their pace, acceleration, distance traveled, as well as specific angles in their joints while performing movement such as jumping or landing.

What does AI do to protect players? 

Artificial intelligence is able to go through large volumes of player movement information to identify behaviors correlated with increased risk for injury.