The National Basketball Association is putting the focus on stats in the latest upgrade to its mobile application, hoping to drive engagement at a time when one of its teams is close to breaking a record.

Fans on the NBA app can now track their favorite players and teams with a more comprehensive statistical view following its most recent update. The NBA has focused heavily on live streaming this season, and is currently in the midst of a surge in awareness due to the Golden State Warriors aiming to clinch the regular-season winning record. 

?The latest upgrades provide our fans with new statistics that are very easy to access on the NBA App,? said Mike Allen, senior vice president of digital products and emerging technology at the NBA. ?Our fans crave stats and the new upgrades including aggregate and defensive statistics provide them with more ways to engage with their favorite team and players on the NBA App.

 

?The upgrades are just the latest developments for the NBA App,? he said. ?At the start of this season, a greater focus was made on delivering live game content.  

?Through the NBA App, we provided direct access to live games, along with enhanced on-demand video and prominent navigation to scores, highlights, news, scheduling information and more.?

Within the Leaders section, the new Totals tab was added for fans to view comprehensive stats of all games for the current season, rather than per game, as it was limited to before. Users now have the ability to toggle between Total and Per Game to see averages for leaders in various statistical categories such as points, rebounds, assists, field goals, three pointers, free throws, blocks and steals.

New defensive stats such as field goals and percentage while defending at the rim and blocks per game have also been included in the new app as well. The updates happen at an exciting time in the NBA, in which the Warriors are on track for a possible 73 regular season wins, breaking the current record of 72 games. 

The NBA also leveraged Facebook's live streaming feature to create a direct connection between players and fans through Q&As and exclusive content (see more). 

The leagues? past deal with daily fantasy sports app FanDuel pointed to basketball?s ability to attract younger, mobile-savvy fans who are increasingly drawn to fantasy sports (see more).

?Statistics have become a big part of the NBA and provide our fans with a deeper understanding of our game,? Mr. Allen said. ?The goal of the updates is simple, to provide our fans with the best experience possible.      

?And that is not just on the NBA App, but across all of our digital assets,? he said. ?We owe that to our passionate fans around the world.?