NBA Adding Interactive Games to Its App Starting Christmas Day
This Christmas, the NBA plans to unwrap a set of new, interactive games offered daily in its app. The “NBA Play” platform will include six games at launch, ranging from matching challenges to trivia-based contests.
Following in the vein of past breakout hits such as Wordle, the offering is expected to include social-sharing and streak-tracking features. Months of work have gone into the program, with contributions coming from across the league’s social, digital, original content, statistics, product and engineering teams as well as outside experts.
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“When I look at what the NBA can do in a unique way that nobody else can do is bring our stats to life and bring the years and years of competitive play to life, and ultimately acknowledge our fans who have been with us along the way, who have stacked up years and years of knowledge and actually take pride in it,” NBA VP and head of direct-to-consumer content Sarah Crennan said in an interview. “It’s not only about consuming the NBA, it’s also the pride you get in showing what you know.”
At the same time, the league looked for more accessible games that could appeal to new or casual followers. The NBA plans to track the success of its new titles and augment the experience based on user data, with a goal of increasing use of its recently redesigned app. The six games available at launch will update each morning at 9 a.m. ET and at times will be programmed to dovetail with on-court stories. They are:
NBA Blast: A match-three game using basketball-related symbols, including the Larry O’Brien trophy
NBA IQ: An NBA history quiz tied to certain categories (such as all-time scoring leaders)
NBA Rank: A trivia challenge requiring players to correctly order players or teams based on the day’s statistical criteria
NBA Hoop Connect: Users will be shown two players and asked to name someone who played with each (more rare guesses will be rewarded with more points)
NBA Full Court Guess: A clue-based daily player mystery prompt
NBA Player Path: A game requiring fans to trace a given player’s NBA trajectory from team to team while playing in the league
“We think this community of fans interested in interactive games covers everything from a casual fan to a hardcore fan,” Crennan said. “In that six-game portfolio, there’s something for every type of fan.”
NBA Play represents the latest progression for the league’s mobile platform, which has leaned into the ability for users to customize its offering by following specific players and teams this season. The league has also already tested other forms of interactivity in the app, such as prediction prompts.
“Something that we’re really exploring for the NBA app is this idea of, ‘Show us what you know,’ or ‘Show us the extent to which you are a fan,’” Crennan said. “I think the next evolution as far as the app goes is, How do we bring in your perspective more? To me, interactive gaming is a part of that.”
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