Today is one week from our one-year anniversary of launching HomeCourt in the App Store, and it’s been an amazing year. Our team has grown from a small committed group to a larger team of passionate technologists and sports enthusiasts who are committed to serving our growing community that has now tracked over 25 million shots and 20 million dribbles in over 170 countries.
It’s also been amazing and humbling to see HomeCourt help more and more aspiring athletes all over the world. Even with these early milestones, we knew we were just getting started and that we had much more work to do to bring utility and joy to basketball players at any level, anywhere.
This is why we are excited to announce that we have entered into a first-of-its-kind strategic partnership with the NBA. Together, we are delivering a new mobile training experience for the next generation of basketball players.
“The HomeCourt app marries a passion for technology with old-school deliberate practice and skill development. This exciting partnership builds on our continued efforts to embrace innovation and artificial intelligence to reach and engage basketball players around the world.”
- NBA Commissioner Adam Silver
This groundbreaking partnership will leverage HomeCourt’s technology to develop and train players at all skill levels — from youth players to NBA athletes. HomeCourt will be an integral part of the NBA’s youth basketball development initiatives around the world.
NBA Summer Challenges
Beginning today, HomeCourt will offer three NBA-prized global challenges consisting of a shooting contest, ball-handling contest, and achievement badges.
HomeCourt and the NBA are delivering an all-new challenge experience for this summer. NBA shooting and dribbling contests use augmented reality and live capture of your real-world basketball performance to provide a truly immersive experience. Audio cues tell you when you’re scoring points and when you’re on a hot streak. It’s like you’re inside a video game. These challenges allow HomeCourt users to compete and share their clips with anyone around the world.
NBA Summer Achievements
Test your skills in every aspect of the game — from shooting, to dribbling, to agility. Earn a “Double Double” for completing two out of three of the following: 100 shot makes, 10 dribble drills, or 10 agility drills. Earn a “Triple Double” and win a 20% discount at NBAstore.com by making 200 shots, 20 dribble drills and 20 agility drills.
The new NBA summer challenges and achievements are available in the App Store starting today.
And we‘re just getting started. Additional interactive training drills, challenges and joint initiatives will be developed in partnership with the NBA, NBA teams, and during key events throughout the NBA season. HomeCourt will also have a presence at marquee league events such as NBA All-Star and the Jr. NBA Global Championship.
As we can continue to work with the NBA all over the world, we will be developing more game-changing experiences that help the next generation of basketball players take it to the next level.
One More Thing…
As part of this partnership announcement, we are also excited to announce that we have closed a $8.5 million Series A round of funding with the NBA, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, Joe Tsai (Minority Owner, Brooklyn Nets and Owner, NY Liberty), Dreamers (the venture fund of movie star Will Smith and Japanese football star Keuiske Honda) along with our early seed investors like Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment (Ownership, 76ers) and Mark Cuban (Owner, Dallas Mavericks). In addition, Amy Brooks, NBA Chief Innovation Officer and President, Team Marketing & Business Operations—will be joining our board of directors.
We are also excited to welcome what might be the largest group of professional athlete investors ever assembled to a HomeCourt investor team that already includes Steve Nash and Jeremy Lin.
We are incredibly excited to be working with this amazing group of passionate, world-class athletes with accolades that include NBA and WNBA champions, All-Stars, Olympians, EuroLeague Champions, NCAA Champions, an NBA 3-point Shooting Champ, a John Wooden Player of the Year and…well you get the point.
Unlocking Potential in Every Player
As part of our launch today, we are also introducing our first set of new pro drills with Steve Nash and Joe Harris. Our users can now get pro-level instruction straight from the best players in the world while getting real-time drill assessments with star ratings, stats, and auto-produced highlights.
Look out for more of these as we continue to work with our team to provide the most comprehensive and interactive library of basketball drills out there.
Game On
With our new round of funding and incredible group of partners, we can’t wait to continue to unlock potential in every player and deliver a transformative training experience for athletes everywhere.
See you on HomeCourt.
