NBA - Metadata Integration & Filtering Options in Iconik

NBA Statistics Integration

For all Alt-Z Melts and Phantom Cam footage, we have an automated API integration that enriches all of these clips with NBA statistical metadata in Iconik. As this footage is ingested into Iconik, the metadata is pulled from the league API and mapped to the clips, providing advanced search capability for these clips in Iconik using Filters. For all Melts and Phantom Cam footage, the metadata is applied globally to the clip, so it is at the item level. 

For game broadcasts of an NBA game, we record a single clip with multiple plays, so the metadata is applied to the clip as time-based metadata. Time-based metadata is less searchable in Iconik than clip-based metadata, as time-based metadata can’t be accessed using filters. You must go into the game asset to view the time-based metadata, with only keyword filtering available in the UI.

For melts and Phantom Cam footage, all of the clip-based metadata is passed into an LLM (Large Language Model) where AI Generated Summaries are created and mapped back to an AI Summary metadata field on the asset in Iconik. That AI Generated metadata is searchable in Iconik.

With live games on Prime Video, all of these data integrations for melts are automated, so metadata is ingested to the assets when the clips are created. For any melts created by 3rd Party networks (ESPN, NBC) or Phantom Cam footage from the NBA, the metadata is applied through a manual process when the clips are received and ingested. Either way, the melt clips and Phantom Cam all end up with clip-level metadata.

The metadata schema for NBA melt and Phantom Cam clips include the ability to do “absolute player and action filtering”, so the process to filter for NBA melts and Phantom footage in Iconik is very robust.

NBA Iconik fields that are available for filtering include the following

• NBA Action Type - There are 18 fixed Action Types that can exist for any given event. Each event can only have 1 Action Type.
  • Game
  • Period
  • 2pt
  • 3pt
  • Free Throw
  • Jump Ball
  • Assist
  • Block
  • Rebound
  • Foul
  • Timeout
  • Steal
  • Turnover
  • Substitution
  • Violation
  • Ejection
  • Stoppage
  • Instant Replay
• NBA Action Sub-Type - There is a lengthy list of NBA Action Sub-Types, so that list is available to you in the nba_actiondefinitions.xlsx document in your knowledge base.
• NBA Descriptor - There is a lengthy list of NBA Descriptors, so that list is available to you in the nba_actiondefinitions.xlsx document in your knowledge base.
• NBA Qualifier - There is a lengthy list of Action Qualifiers, so that list is available to you in the nba_actiondefinitions.xlsx document in your knowledge base.

In addition to the Action Type, Action Sub-Type, Descriptor and Qualifier fields, there are numerous metadata fields that have absolute player values. 

• NBA Shot Made By - Player that made the shot
• NBA Shot Missed By - Player that missed the shot
• NBA Shot Rebounded By - Player that got the rebound
• NBA Assisted By - Player that had the assist
• NBA Shot Blocked By - Player that blocked the shot
• NBA Steal By - Player that stole the ball
• NBA Turnover By - Player that committed the turnover
• NBA Jump Ball Won By - Player that won the Jump Ball
• NBA Jump Ball Lost By - Player that lost the Jump Ball
• NBA Jump Ball Recovered By - Player that recovered the Jump Ball
• NBA Ejection By - Player that was ejected from the game

Additionally, there are some NBA metadata fields that are related to game action, but do not identify a specific player.

• NBA Shot Result - Was the shot made or missed
• NBA Quarter - What quarter did the play occur
• NBA Shot Distance - What was the exact distance of the shot
• NBA Play Description - Detailed play description across all events on the clip
• NBA Game ID - Official Game ID of the game

You can use the absolute player fields in combination with NBA - Action Type and NBA - Descriptor/Qualifier filters to target your searches. This functionality is currently available for 2024-25 NBA Melts only.

These filters can be accessed from the default PVLS-NBA metadata view, or you can switch to the PVLS-NBA-STAT-FILTERING view for more direct access to these filters.

NBA Melt Search Tip - Once you have found a play and you want additional angles of that play, locate the Play ID and enter that into the NBA Play ID filter, this will get you every camera angle from that same play.

Video link to demo: