The NBA & WNBA manage complexity associated with the 2020 season

To protect NBA and WNBA players from the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization monitors players, staff, families, media partners, as well as hotel staff on both campuses.

Building a global game

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a global sports and media business, with the NBA and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) at its core. The NBA has a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and in 47 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 100,000 stores in 100 countries. The NBA rosters at the start of the 2019-20 season featured 108 international players from 38 countries and territories.

Securing a restart

Sports, like many other industries, was severely impacted by COVID-19. The NBA was just weeks away from finishing its 2019-20 season when it was forced to stop all games. The WNBA had yet to start.

The NBA wanted to create a secure campus in which to conclude the NBA season and run the entire WNBA season. Among the many challenges of doing so, it needed to establish a secure, digital workflow around access and health screening for all employees.

Nine customized workflows 

The NBA abruptly closed down its season on March 11. It wanted to restart on July 30 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, with the WNBA season taking place at the IMG Academy in nearby Bradenton. Using ServiceNow Safe Workplace suite, HR Service Delivery, Customer Service Management, and Field Service Management, the league was able to create and integrate nine customized workflows to screen, track, and grant tiered access for all those staying on both campuses.

Establishing a secure campus for 2,600

ServiceNow helped the league facilitate screening for more than 2,600 league staff, vendors, and guests who entered the NBA and WNBA campuses in Florida. All teams on each campus were protected, with wristbands granting entry to COVID-19 testing sites, practice facilities, and other areas. The ServiceNow workflows successfully processed more than 13,000 essential documents. The user experience was intuitive; all data remained secure.

Protecting lives 

The NBA and the WNBA finished their seasons with teams completing 172 games during the more than 90 days spent on the two campuses. For the NBA, the successful conclusion of the season delivered record-breaking, compelling content to a global audience — with LeBron James winning his fourth Championship ring, and the Los Angeles Lakers tying the Boston Celtics with the most NBA titles.

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