Authenticate with the balldontlie API and pull NBA teams, players, and game data
domain: balldontlie.io · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
Sampled — shipped under file-level sampling, not individually fact-checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Steps
Create a free account at app.balldontlie.io and copy your API key from Account Settings
Send the key via the Authorization header on each request
Call the teams, players, and games endpoints available on the free tier for base data
For player game stats, box scores, standings, or advanced stats, check which paid tier (ALL-STAR, GOAT, or All-Access) covers that endpoint group before calling it
Respect the free tier's rate limit of 5 requests/minute; paginate large result sets using the API's cursor/page parameters
Known gotchas
Free tier is capped at only 5 requests/minute and limited to teams/players/games — most stats endpoints (box scores, standings, odds) require a paid plan
Pricing tiers apply per sport — balldontlie also covers other leagues, so paying for NBA access doesn't unlock the same tier for another sport
Higher tiers (webhooks, backtesting) jump significantly in price (e.g. $499.99/mo for All-Access) — confirm actual endpoint needs before assuming a mid-tier plan covers them
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