---
updatedAt: 2026-09-01T10:23:16.000Z
agentTools:
siteIndex: https://developer.sportradar.com/llms.txt
projectIndex: https://developer.sportradar.com/basketball/llms.txt
---
# Live Game Updates
This scenario tracks games as they are played: score and clock, full team and player statistics, top performers, and an event-level play-by-play stream with shot locations and possession.
This scenario is commonly used to:
* Drive a live scoreboard with score, quarter, and clock
* Render live boxscores with team and player statistics
* Power play-by-play tickers and shot charts
The response samples on this page come from the deciding game of the 2025-26 Finals (Greensboro Swarm 119 at Stockton Kings 104, April 11, 2026).
***
## Relevant Feeds
| Feed | Purpose |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Daily Schedule | The day's games, tip-off times, and coverage flags |
| Game Summary | Score, clock, and complete team and player statistics |
| Game Boxscore | A lighter payload: score, quarter scoring, and stat leaders |
| Game Play-by-Play | Every event of the game, with locations, possession, and stat attributions |
***
## High-Level Workflow
**Daily Schedule → poll Game Summary and Play-by-Play during play → reconcile deletions → stop at closed**
Live Game WorkflowFind the day's games, poll during play, reconcile, close out
Before tip-offDaily Schedule→select gamescheck coverage + track_on_court
During playGame Summaryscore, clock, full statistics
Event streamGame Play-by-Play→upsert events by id→drop ids in deleted_events
Game endstatus: closed→final pull, stop polling
Cadences come from Update Frequencies; late corrections surface in the Daily Change Log's results section.
***
## Integration Steps
### 1. Find the day's games
Pull the Daily Schedule (see [Schedules](https://developer.sportradar.com/basketball/docs/g-league-ig-schedules)) and select the games to track. Two flags on each game state what live data to expect: `coverage` (`full` for the complete live feed set; `extended_boxscore`, possible for some preseason games, for scores, clock, and leaders with full statistics after results post), and `track_on_court: true` for live on-court lineup data (the `on_court` player flags and `lineupchange` events below). A game moves from `scheduled` through `inprogress` to `complete` and then `closed`; the full lifecycle, including the exceptional paths, is on [Game Status Workflow](https://developer.sportradar.com/basketball/docs/g-league-ig-game-status-workflow).
### 2. Poll the Game Summary
Game Summary is the primary live feed: the game header (status, quarter, clock), both teams' full statistics, and per-player statistics for everyone who has played. The header and the home side, with the statistics objects reduced to a selection of their fields and the player list to the top scorer:
```http
GET https://api.sportradar.com/nbdl/trial/v8/en/games/5b13f219-10bf-4ff7-b91d-721a9f53600d/summary.json
x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY
```
```json Game Summary (json)
{
"id": "5b13f219-10bf-4ff7-b91d-721a9f53600d",
"status": "closed",
"coverage": "full",
"track_on_court": true,
"entry_mode": "WEBSOCKET",
"title": "Game 2",
"scheduled": "2026-04-11T02:00:00+00:00",
"duration": "2:10",
"attendance": 4020,
"quarter": 4,
"clock": "00:00",
"lead_changes": 0,
"times_tied": 1,
"season": {
"id": "d32bbe62-5116-42c5-a96c-95ff0c87de03",
"year": 2025,
"type": "PST",
"name": "Post-season"
},
"home": {
"id": "b971b187-c542-4b76-9548-114acc564e05",
"name": "Kings",
"market": "Stockton",
"alias": "STO",
"points": 104,
"bonus": true,
"remaining_timeouts": 1,
"statistics": {
"points": 104,
"field_goals_made": 39,
"field_goals_att": 92,
"field_goals_pct": 42.4,
"three_points_made": 5,
"three_points_att": 31,
"three_points_pct": 16.1,
"free_throws_made": 11,
"free_throws_att": 13,
"free_throws_pct": 84.6,
"assists": 15,
"steals": 11,
"blocks": 5,
"fast_break_pts": 15,
"bench_points": 21,
"biggest_lead": 0,
"effective_fg_pct": 45.1
},
"players": [
{
"id": "80bf06f8-b2d8-483b-849c-2a168198cfbc",
"full_name": "DaQuan Jeffries",
"jersey_number": "6",
"position": "F",
"starter": true,
"played": true,
"active": true,
"on_court": false,
"statistics": {
"minutes": "43:35",
"points": 27,
"rebounds": 10,
"assists": 2,
"steals": 2,
"blocks": 2,
"turnovers": 5,
"field_goals_made": 10,
"field_goals_att": 23,
"field_goals_pct": 43.5,
"three_points_made": 2,
"three_points_att": 9,
"free_throws_made": 2,
"free_throws_att": 3,
"efficiency": 26,
"double_double": true
}
}
]
},
"away": {
"id": "e74de5ce-3e98-4414-afe5-b56a90e527a2",
"name": "Swarm",
"market": "Greensboro",
"alias": "GBO",
"points": 119
}
}
```
Reading the payload:
* `quarter` and `clock` place the game; `lead_changes` and `times_tied` summarize its flow
* Team statistics go well beyond the counting stats: shooting splits by zone (`field_goals_at_rim_*`, `field_goals_at_midrange_*`), `fast_break_pts`, `bench_points`, `biggest_lead`, and `effective_fg_pct`
* `bonus` and `remaining_timeouts` carry the in-game situation
* Each player row carries `starter`, `played`, `active`, and (for games with `track_on_court`) `on_court` for who is on the floor right now
* Player statistics include `plus_minus`, `efficiency`, and `double_double` alongside the box-score lines
* Rostered players who do not play carry a `not_playing_reason` (a fixed value list, for example `DNP – Coach's Decision`; the full list is in the [G League FAQ](https://developer.sportradar.com/basketball/reference/g-league-faq#what-are-the-possible-values-for-player---not_playing_reason)) and can also carry a `not_playing_description`, a free-text note entered by the league with no fixed value list; treat the description as display text
### 3. Use the Boxscore for lighter polling
Game Boxscore carries the header, quarter-by-quarter scoring, and each team's current stat leaders, without the full player lists. It is the right feed when a scoreboard needs more than the schedule but less than the full summary:
```http
GET https://api.sportradar.com/nbdl/trial/v8/en/games/5b13f219-10bf-4ff7-b91d-721a9f53600d/boxscore.json
x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY
```
```json Game Boxscore (json)
{
"id": "5b13f219-10bf-4ff7-b91d-721a9f53600d",
"status": "closed",
"quarter": 4,
"clock": "00:00",
"scheduled": "2026-04-11T02:00:00+00:00",
"home": {
"id": "b971b187-c542-4b76-9548-114acc564e05",
"name": "Kings",
"market": "Stockton",
"alias": "STO",
"points": 104,
"scoring": [
{
"type": "quarter",
"number": 1,
"sequence": 1,
"points": 19
},
{
"type": "quarter",
"number": 2,
"sequence": 2,
"points": 31
},
{
"type": "quarter",
"number": 3,
"sequence": 3,
"points": 33
},
{
"type": "quarter",
"number": 4,
"sequence": 4,
"points": 21
}
],
"leaders": {
"points": [
{
"id": "80bf06f8-b2d8-483b-849c-2a168198cfbc",
"full_name": "DaQuan Jeffries",
"jersey_number": "6",
"position": "F",
"statistics": {
"minutes": "43:35",
"points": 27,
"rebounds": 10,
"assists": 2,
"steals": 2,
"blocks": 2,
"turnovers": 5,
"field_goals_made": 10,
"field_goals_att": 23,
"field_goals_pct": 43.5,
"three_points_made": 2,
"three_points_att": 9,
"free_throws_made": 2,
"free_throws_att": 3,
"efficiency": 26,
"double_double": true
}
}
]
}
},
"away": {
"id": "e74de5ce-3e98-4414-afe5-b56a90e527a2",
"name": "Swarm",
"market": "Greensboro",
"alias": "GBO",
"points": 119
}
}
```
The `leaders` object ranks the current leaders in points, rebounds, and assists; the sample is reduced to the points leader.
Rendered as a finished screen, the same response becomes a linescore and leaders panel:
NBA G League Finals: Game 2FINAL
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
GBOGreensboro Swarm25372730119
STOStockton Kings19313321104
GREENSBORO LEADERSPTSTosan Evbuomwan22REBTidjane Salaun10ASTTerrell Brown Jr.10
The headshot and logo slots are generic placeholders; fill them from Sportradar's image products or your own assets.
### 4. Stream the Play-by-Play
Game Play-by-Play returns the game as `periods`, each carrying an ordered `events` array; this game produced 500 events across four quarters. The header and the opening events:
```http
GET https://api.sportradar.com/nbdl/trial/v8/en/games/5b13f219-10bf-4ff7-b91d-721a9f53600d/pbp.json
x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY
```
```json Game Play-by-Play (json)
{
"id": "5b13f219-10bf-4ff7-b91d-721a9f53600d",
"status": "closed",
"entry_mode": "WEBSOCKET",
"quarter": 4,
"clock": "00:00",
"periods": [
{
"id": "16373336-1a4a-44d2-b41a-039872157fd3",
"number": 1,
"type": "quarter",
"sequence": 1,
"events": [
{
"id": "7ea26c41-5a91-4de8-85fa-e840d24cda28",
"clock": "12:00",
"event_type": "lineupchange",
"description": "Swarm lineup change (Tosan Evbuomwan, Marcus Garrett, Tidjane Salaun, Jonas Aidoo, Liam McNeeley)",
"home_points": 0,
"away_points": 0,
"sequence": 1775872970293
},
{
"id": "1d6bbc80-96f8-4e7b-a0c6-a47e28201afe",
"clock": "12:00",
"event_type": "lineupchange",
"description": "Kings lineup change (Jon Elmore, DaQuan Jeffries, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Gabe Levin, Dexter Dennis)",
"home_points": 0,
"away_points": 0,
"sequence": 1775872970295
},
{
"id": "642f8032-e19b-477f-a552-2e1430267337",
"clock": "12:00",
"event_type": "startperiod",
"description": "Start of 1st Quarter",
"home_points": 0,
"away_points": 0,
"sequence": 1775872970300
}
]
}
]
}
```
The events above are reduced to their core fields. A scoring event in full shows everything an event can carry:
```json Play-by-Play event (json)
{
"id": "230eb822-0fff-45be-b237-8cb5e5a38f1f",
"clock": "10:48",
"clock_decimal": "10:48",
"event_type": "twopointmade",
"description": "Tosan Evbuomwan makes two point fadeaway jump shot",
"home_points": 0,
"away_points": 2,
"attribution": {
"name": "Swarm",
"market": "Greensboro",
"id": "e74de5ce-3e98-4414-afe5-b56a90e527a2",
"team_basket": "right"
},
"location": {
"coord_x": 1014,
"coord_y": 194,
"action_area": "insideleft"
},
"possession": {
"name": "Kings",
"market": "Stockton",
"id": "b971b187-c542-4b76-9548-114acc564e05",
"reference": "1612709914"
},
"statistics": [
{
"type": "fieldgoal",
"made": true,
"shot_type": "jump shot",
"shot_type_desc": "fadeaway",
"points": 2,
"team": {
"name": "Swarm",
"market": "Greensboro",
"id": "e74de5ce-3e98-4414-afe5-b56a90e527a2",
"reference": "1612709922"
},
"player": {
"full_name": "Tosan Evbuomwan",
"jersey_number": "8",
"id": "a13cb61f-223c-4b04-b1eb-1abe652d945c",
"reference": "1641787"
}
}
],
"wall_clock": "2026-04-11T02:04:01+00:00"
}
```
* `attribution` names the acting team, and `team_basket` orients `location`: court coordinates for shot charts, with an `action_area` zone label
* `possession` names the team in possession after the event
* `statistics` attributes the event to players and stat types (the sample is a made field goal with `shot_type` detail)
* `sequence` orders events globally; `clock_decimal` supplements `clock` for sub-second rendering
* Events also carry an `on_court` object (omitted above for brevity) listing the ten players on the floor
* G League rules include the **weighted free throw**, a single attempt worth the full value of the trip; these arrive as ordinary free throw events whose description carries the value (`makes 3 point weighted free throw 1 of 1` in this game) and whose statistics carry `free_throw_type: "weighted"` alongside `regular`
* The full event-type vocabulary is in the [G League FAQ](https://developer.sportradar.com/basketball/reference/g-league-faq#event-types)
Poll the feed and append events with unseen `sequence` values; each event's `updated` timestamp tells you when it last changed.
The `location` coordinates render straight onto a court: each dot below is one Greensboro Swarm field-goal attempt from this game's play-by-play, filled when made and hollow when missed:
Greensboro Swarm Shot ChartNBA G League Finals: Game 2
made (42)missed (49)
The court drawing is schematic; each dot sits at its event's coordinates.
### 5. Reconcile edits and deletions
Play-by-play is corrected live by the scorekeepers: events can be updated after they first appear, and some are deleted outright. Official reviews are part of this flow: a review surfaces as its own `review` event (this game carried one, described as `Instant replay (Challenge: Ruling Upheld)`), and when a ruling changes a play, the affected event is adjusted in place, moving its `updated` timestamp. The root-level `deleted_events` array lists the IDs of every deleted event, as in this response:
```json Play-by-Play deleted events (json)
{
"deleted_events": [
{
"id": "e16cab40-8830-42ca-9918-44ea792245c5"
},
{
"id": "1bb5dfcb-a034-4a91-8b77-fb221b08f956"
},
{
"id": "0166663f-1ac7-4840-b452-07acd8a9798d"
}
]
}
```
On each poll, upsert events by `id` (re-applying any whose `updated` changed) and drop any ID that appears in `deleted_events`.
### 6. Close out the game
A finished game passes through `complete` while stats are validated and settles at `closed`, where results are final: make one last pull of the Summary and Play-by-Play, then stop polling. Completed-game responses serve on a long cache (see [Update Frequencies](https://developer.sportradar.com/basketball/docs/g-league-ig-update-frequencies)), and late corrections surface through the `results` section of the daily change log ([Monitoring Data Changes](https://developer.sportradar.com/basketball/docs/g-league-ig-daily-change-log)).
***
## Common Use Cases
Typical builds on this workflow include:
* A live scoreboard on the Boxscore feed with quarter scoring and leaders
* A full live boxscore page on the Game Summary feed
* A play-by-play ticker and shot chart on the Play-by-Play feed's locations and descriptions
***
## Best Practices
* Poll only the games you are tracking, at a cadence matched to your product (a few seconds for a live ticker; slower for a periodically refreshed page); read each response's `cache-control` header for the feed's current TTL
* Upsert play-by-play by event `id` and honor `deleted_events` on every poll; do not treat the stream as append-only
* Use `on_court` data only where the game's `track_on_court` flag is true
* After `closed`, reconcile via the Daily Change Log instead of continuing to poll game feeds
* Data collection carries a failover process; see the [Failover section of the G League FAQ](https://developer.sportradar.com/basketball/reference/g-league-faq#failover)