This season, fans will gain unprecedented insights into the game through Gravity, a groundbreaking AI-powered statistic.
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) is celebrating its 30th season amidst a surge of popularity, having achieved over 3.2 billion views across social media platforms in 2025, and welcoming two new teams, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, which expands the league to 15 franchises.
As part of this growth, WNBA Inside the Game, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), is launching its AI basketball intelligence platform. This initiative aims to deepen the understanding of game dynamics for fans, broadcasters, and teams alike.
AWS, as the Official Cloud and Cloud AI Partner of the NBA and WNBA, brings its advanced analytics to the WNBA, with Gravity being the flagship feature. This innovative analytic quantifies a player’s influence on the game, particularly in terms of defensive attention.
Understanding Gravity: Gravity measures how much defensive focus a player attracts, both with and without the ball. This metric highlights players who create space for teammates, often without taking a shot themselves.
Using an optical tracking system, Gravity captures detailed movements of players on the court at 25 frames per second, analyzing 20 body points to assess spatial relationships and movements. The key metric is the Gravity differential, which compares actual defensive pressure to expected pressure, providing a score that indicates a player's impact on the game.
Scores range from -100 to 100, with higher scores indicating a greater ability to draw defensive attention. A score above 80 suggests that defenses are preemptively adjusting to a player, while a score above 90 indicates a player is a significant scoring threat.
The introduction of Gravity aligns with the WNBA’s legacy of basketball intelligence, emphasizing precise spacing and teamwork. It allows fans to appreciate the contributions of players who may not always appear in traditional statistics.
What to Expect: Gravity will be accessible to fans through WNBA digital channels and live broadcasts starting in the 2026 season. This tool aims to enhance fan engagement and provide deeper insights into player performance.
AWS's partnership with the WNBA is focused on fostering growth and innovation within the league. By leveraging advanced analytics, AWS aims to address key challenges and enhance the storytelling aspect of the game.
The 30th season marks a significant milestone for the WNBA, and with the introduction of Gravity, it opens a new chapter for fans and analysts seeking a more comprehensive understanding of women's basketball.
