Update Frequencies

Intro

Each NBA API endpoint updates at a variable frequency, in terms of both its cache and its data.

For example, a Game endpoint may have a 2-second cache during a live game and a 120-second cache outside of a live game. Alternatively, a Standings endpoint may have a 120-second cache, but the data within will only update when games conclude. And during the offseason data will not update at all.

Given your limited amount of API requests and QPS, these frequencies should be understood and factored into your pull rate.

Use this section to help determine the best pull frequency for your needs.

Time-to-Live (TTL) and Data Updates

Understanding the distinction between TTL and data updates is crucial for designing an efficient and reliable NBA API solution. TTL is focused on the validity of cached data to optimize performance, whereas data updates are concerned with the actual data within the API.

Time-to-Live (TTL)

Time-to-Live (TTL) is a mechanism used to define the lifespan of data in a cache or network. It specifies the duration for which the data remains valid and can be reused. Once the TTL expires, the data could be stale and must be re-fetched.

You can find the TTL for each RESTful feed in the response header of a request under Cache-Control. A response of public, must-revalidate, max-age=300 signifies a time-to-live of 300 seconds.

Data Updates

Data Updates refer to the changes made to the underlying data that the API provides access to. This can occur through various operations such as creating, updating, or deleting our sports data.

Data updates are critical to ensuring that the API delivers the most current and accurate information. Data entry workflows and processes specific to NBA data will affect your suggested request frequency.

Additional Frequency Resources

NBA API responses also provide expires and etag headers. Toggle between the two header samples below to get an idea of how each functions.

Expires

Use the expires header date to determine a specific time to re-fetch data. In cases, it may be more convenient than computing the date of the content alongside the TTL.

Etags

Use the etags header to check if the content has changed between requests.

< HTTP/2 200 
< content-type: application/xml;charset=utf-8
< content-length: 884005
< date: Wed, 03 Jul 2024 18:21:13 GMT
< x-amzn-requestid: 87355d21-5a20-429a-95e9-b36d406a992f
< strict-transport-security: max-age=15724800; includeSubDomains
< x-amzn-remapped-content-length: 884005
< content-language: en
< x-amzn-remapped-connection: close
< x-amz-apigw-id: aWR3wGSRIAMEddQ=
< cache-control: public, must-revalidate, max-age=120
< expires: Wed, 03 Jul 2024 18:23:12 GMT
< etag: "2b358d2fe60303e7bbd1be3d64a37cfe"
< x-via: Delivery-Proxy
< x-amzn-trace-id: Root=1-66859697-752ac4fa2c40a4586900aa76;Parent=667fb8ce9acca5af;Sampled=0;lineage=b9fe645c:0
< x-amzn-remapped-date: Wed, 03 Jul 2024 18:21:13 GMT
< via: 1.1 72b77c557ac4c265c32d99bdef4e9d6a.cloudfront.net (CloudFront), 1.1 d1b7c750b45b2751c2c1a34c2f5af9ec.cloudfront.net (CloudFront)
< x-amz-cf-pop: IAD79-C3
< vary: Accept-Encoding
< x-cache: Hit from cloudfront
< x-amz-cf-pop: ORD58-P6
< x-amz-cf-id: -u_iAJXYbBsYDq3ex20s2Sj7z0m-yIx5CDRpGHIPxz4k58-Pl-857A==
< age: 13

< HTTP/2 200 
< content-type: application/xml;charset=utf-8
< content-length: 884005
< date: Wed, 03 Jul 2024 18:32:17 GMT
< x-amzn-requestid: 0211fcbe-b272-49fc-9c2e-bc8c8fded090
< strict-transport-security: max-age=15724800; includeSubDomains
< x-amzn-remapped-content-length: 884005
< content-language: en
< x-amzn-remapped-connection: close
< x-amz-apigw-id: aWTfeFFkIAMEvvA=
< cache-control: public, must-revalidate, max-age=120
< expires: Wed, 03 Jul 2024 18:34:16 GMT
< etag: "94bf0a9737dd296c3ebf95f0b9de9ea5"
< x-via: Delivery-Proxy
< x-amzn-trace-id: Root=1-6685992f-41c8513b6c9423d36b717894;Parent=7c945e91890c1d79;Sampled=0;lineage=b9fe645c:0
< x-amzn-remapped-date: Wed, 03 Jul 2024 18:32:17 GMT
< via: 1.1 c3fbf93d9b0f1f9b36fcc420314f3186.cloudfront.net (CloudFront), 1.1 049d2c2e11b2a18bd6ce7ab8a5981ed2.cloudfront.net (CloudFront)
< x-amz-cf-pop: IAD79-C3
< vary: Accept-Encoding
< x-cache: Miss from cloudfront
< x-amz-cf-pop: ORD58-P6
< x-amz-cf-id: wjObvD9E5r97H03nJ95mPb1bmnnTOaLoLMtX9kOptCpyLqBQvz3Wpg==

Frequency Chart

What is the right request frequency for your use? Which endpoints should you pull to get the most efficient use of your allotted calls?

The below chart provides answers to these questions, with a breakdown of the cache and data updates for every NBA API endpoint, as well as our recommended pulling frequency.

Endpoint	TTL / Cache	Data Updates	Recommended Pull (Non-Live)	Recommended Pull (Live)
Daily Change Log	300 seconds	Entries populate every 20 minutes for changes to teams, players, game statistics, schedules, and standings. Start time of the log is 05:00:00 UTC; end time is 04:59:59 UTC	Pull every ten minutes or less, depending on your use case.	Not applicable
Daily Injuries	300 seconds	Injuries are made available depending on the day of a game. See our Data Entry Workflow section for specific timings on "injury updates"	Pull every hour or less during the current day, depending on your use case.	Not applicable
Daily Schedule	10 seconds	Schedule info is updated in realtime as changes are made.	Pull every hour or less during the current day, depending on your use case.	Not applicable
Daily Transfers	300 seconds	Updates are made in realtime as transactions are entered.	Pull every hour or less, depending on your use case.	Not applicable
Free Agents	300 seconds	Updates are made in realtime as changes are made to rosters or player profiles.	Pull every hour or less, depending on your use case.	Not applicable
Game Boxscore	This endpoint will update to a 2s TTL (time to live) upon a game moving to `inprogress`. Upon `closed`, it will transfer to 120s.	Realtime	Pull on an as-needed basis. Feed can be ignored until 10 minutes before the scheduled game start, depending on your use case. Utilize the daily change log to capture data changes after a game has ended.	Can request as fast as every 2 seconds (matching the TTL) when a game is live. Game feeds should be requested 10 minutes before the scheduled start.
Game Summary	This endpoint will update to a 2s TTL (time to live) upon a game moving to `inprogress`. Upon `closed`, it will transfer to 120s.	Realtime	Pull on an as-needed basis. Feed can be ignored until 10 minutes before the scheduled game start, depending on your use case. Utilize the daily change log to capture data changes after a game has ended.	Can request as fast as every 2 seconds (matching the TTL) when a game is live. Game feeds should be requested 10 minutes before the scheduled start.
Injuries	300 seconds	Injuries are made available depending on the day of the game. See our Data Entry Workflow section for specific timings on "injury updates"	Pull every hour or less during the current day, depending on your use case.	Not applicable
League Hierarchy	300 seconds	Hierarchy updates will appear as they are updated in the database.	Pull daily or less, depending on your use case.	Not applicable
League Leaders	120 seconds	League Leaders are updated around 5 minutes after a game is moved to `closed`	Pull on an as-needed basis. Utilize the daily change log to capture data changes after a game has ended.	Pull 5-10 mins after a game is moved to `closed` to receive the quickest updates
Game Play-by-Play	This endpoint will update to a 2s TTL (time to live) upon a game moving to `inprogress`. Upon `closed`, it will transfer to 120s.	Realtime	Pull on an as-needed basis. Feed can be ignored until 10 minutes before the scheduled game start, depending on your use case. Utilize the daily change log to capture data changes after a game has ended.	Can request as fast as every 2 seconds (matching the TTL) when a game is live. Game feeds should be requested 10 minutes before the scheduled start.
Player Profile	120 seconds	Stats are updated around 5 minutes after a game is moved to `closed`	Pull on an as-needed basis. Utilize the daily change log to capture data changes after a game has ended.	Pull 5-10 mins after a game is moved to `closed` to receive the quickest updates
Rankings	120 seconds	Rankings are updated nightly, 60 minutes after all games are over. As the playoffs near, the `clinched` data point is updated 5 minutes after the game is `closed`.	Pull on an as-needed basis.	Pull 30-90 minutes after the final game of the day is moved to `complete`.
Schedule	10 seconds	Schedule information is updated in realtime as changes are made.	Pull every hour or less, depending on your use case. Note that this feed should be used for schedule info prior to a game start. For status of a live game, reference a "game" endpoint.	Not applicable
Seasonal Statistics	120 seconds	Seasonal stats are updated around 5 minutes after a game is moved to `closed`	Pull on an as-needed basis. Utilize the daily change log to capture data changes after a game has ended.	Pull 5-10 mins after a game is moved to `closed` to receive the quickest updates
Seasons	50 seconds	New seasons will appear as they are added to the database. The season status is updated on the same day.	Pull on an as-needed basis.	Not applicable
Series Schedule	10 seconds	Schedule info is updated in realtime as changes are made. The initial playoff schedule (with TBD matchups) will be available shortly after the regular season schedule is released. Teams will advance to the next round on a 2-minute timer after the previous game moves to `complete` status.	Pull on an as-needed basis.	Pull every hour or less, depending on your use case. Note that this feed should be used for schedule info prior to a game start. For status of a live game, reference a "game" endpoint.
Series Statistics	2 seconds	Series stats are updated around 5 minutes after a game is moved to `closed`	Pull on an as-needed basis. Utilize the daily change log to capture data changes after a game has ended.	Pull 5-10 mins after a game is moved to `closed` to receive the quickest updates
Splits (Game)	120 seconds	Splits are updated around 5 minutes after a game is moved to `closed`	Pull on an as-needed basis. Utilize the daily change log to capture data changes after a game has ended.	Pull 5-10 mins after a game is moved to `closed` to receive the quickest updates
Splits (Hierarchy)	120 seconds	Splits are updated around 5 minutes after a game is moved to `closed`	Pull on an as-needed basis. Utilize the daily change log to capture data changes after a game has ended.	Pull 5-10 mins after a game is moved to `closed` to receive the quickest updates
Splits (In-game)	120 seconds	Splits are updated around 5 minutes after a game is moved to `closed`	Pull on an as-needed basis. Utilize the daily change log to capture data changes after a game has ended.	Pull 5-10 mins after a game is moved to `closed` to receive the quickest updates
Splits (Schedule)	120 seconds	Splits are updated around 5 minutes after a game is moved to `closed`	Pull on an as-needed basis. Utilize the daily change log to capture data changes after a game has ended.	Pull 5-10 mins after a game is moved to `closed` to receive the quickest updates
Standings	120 seconds	Standings are updated within 2 minutes of each game moving to `complete`	Pull every hour or less, depending on your use case.	Pull 2-5 mins after a game is moved to 'complete' to receive the quickest updates
Team Depth Charts	120 seconds	Depth charts are updated shortly before each game, but may be updated during or post game.	Depth charts are updated multiple times a week by our roster team to display the latest changes to a team's depth chart.	Not applicable
Team Profile	300 seconds	Updates are made in realtime as changes are made to rosters or player profiles.	Pull every hour or less, depending on your use case.	Not applicable
Teams	300 seconds	New teams will appear as they are added to the database.	Pull on an as-needed basis.	Not applicable
Draft Summary	2 seconds	Realtime	Pull on an as-needed basis.	Can request as fast as every 2 seconds (matching the TTL) when the draft is live. Summary and Trade feeds should be requested 10 minutes before the scheduled start.
Prospects	2 seconds	Prospects are added after the NCAA Men's Basketball season ends and players declare, typically in May.	Pull on an as-needed basis.	Not applicable
Team Draft Picks	2 seconds	Realtime	Pull on an as-needed basis.	Can request as fast as every 2 seconds (matching the TTL) when the draft is live. Summary and Trade feeds should be requested 10 minutes before the scheduled start.
Top Prospects	2 seconds	Prospects are added after the NCAA Men's Basketball season ends and players declare, typically in May.	Pull on an as-needed basis.	Not applicable
Trades	2 seconds	Realtime	Pull on an as-needed basis.	Can request as fast as every 2 seconds (matching the TTL) when the draft is live. Summary and Trade feeds should be requested 10 minutes before the scheduled start.

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Important Note
Pull recommendations are based on a typical customer's needs. We suggest starting with our recommended rate and adjusting as necessary according to your needs.