BALLDONTLIE Sports MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to comprehensive sports data from the BALLDONTLIE API, including NBA, NFL, MLB, EPL, and NHL statistics, player information, game data, and more.

Features

• 67+ Sports Endpoints: Complete access to all BALLDONTLIE API endpoints
• 5 Major Sports: NBA, NFL, MLB, EPL, NHL
• Comprehensive Data: Teams, players, games, statistics, standings, injuries, and advanced analytics
• Authentication: Seamless API key forwarding to backend
• Pagination: Full support for cursor-based pagination
• Error Handling: Proper error forwarding and handling
• TypeScript: Full type safety and IntelliSense support

Installation

npm install @balldontlie/mcp-server

Quick Start

1. Get API Key

Sign up at BALLDONTLIE to get your free API key.

2. Configure MCP Client

Option A: Use Hosted Remote Server (Recommended)

Add to your MCP client configuration (e.g., Claude Desktop) to use the hosted server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "balldontlie-api": {
      "url": "https://mcp.balldontlie.io/mcp",
      "transport": "http",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "<YOUR_BALLDONTLIE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace <YOUR_BALLDONTLIE_API_KEY> with your actual API key from BALLDONTLIE.

Option B: Run from Source

Clone and run from source code:

git clone https://github.com/balldontlie-api/mcp-server.git
cd mcp-server
npm install
npm run build
npm start

Configure your MCP client to connect to the local server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "balldontlie-api": {
      "url": "http://localhost:3000/mcp",
      "transport": "http",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "<YOUR_BALLDONTLIE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Use in Your MCP Client

The server will automatically provide all available tools. You can ask your AI assistant things like:

• "Get the current NBA standings"
• "Show me LeBron James' season stats"
• "What are today's NFL games?"
• "Get Manchester United's recent EPL matches"

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
PORT	3000	Server port when running locally
BACKEND_API_URL	https://api.balldontlie.io	BALLDONTLIE API base URL
API_TIMEOUT	30000	Request timeout in milliseconds
LOG_LEVEL	info	Logging level (error, warn, info, debug)
NODE_ENV	development	Environment (development, production, test)
ENABLE_DEBUG	false	Enable debug logging
ENABLE_TRACING	false	Enable DataDog APM tracing (requires DD_AGENT_HOST)
DD_AGENT_HOST	-	DataDog agent hostname for APM tracing
DD_PROFILING_ENABLED	false	Enable DataDog profiling
SERVICE_VERSION	1.0.0	Service version for tracing

Available Tools

NBA (16 tools)

Tool	Description	Parameters
nba_get_teams	Get all NBA teams	division, conference
nba_get_team_by_id	Get specific NBA team	id (required)
nba_get_players	Get NBA players with filters	search, first_name, last_name, team_ids, player_ids, pagination
nba_get_player_by_id	Get specific NBA player	id (required)
nba_get_active_players	Get active NBA players	Same as nba_get_players
nba_get_games	Get NBA games	dates, seasons, team_ids, postseason, start_date, end_date, pagination
nba_get_game_by_id	Get specific NBA game	id (required)
nba_get_stats	Get NBA statistics	dates, seasons, team_ids, player_ids, game_ids, postseason, pagination
nba_get_season_averages	Get season averages	season (required), category (required), type (required), player_ids, season_type
nba_get_advanced_stats	Get advanced statistics	Same as nba_get_stats
nba_get_box_scores	Get box scores	dates, seasons, team_ids, game_ids, postseason, pagination
nba_get_live_box_scores	Get live box scores	Same as nba_get_box_scores
nba_get_standings	Get team standings	season, conference, division
nba_get_leaders	Get statistical leaders	season, stat_type, per_page
nba_get_player_injuries	Get player injuries	player_ids, team_ids, pagination
nba_get_betting_odds	Get betting odds	game_ids, dates, type, live, pagination

NFL (14 tools)

Tool	Description	Parameters
nfl_get_teams	Get all NFL teams	division, conference
nfl_get_team_by_id	Get specific NFL team	id (required)
nfl_get_players	Get NFL players	search, first_name, last_name, team_ids, player_ids, position, pagination
nfl_get_player_by_id	Get specific NFL player	id (required)
nfl_get_active_players	Get active NFL players	Same as nfl_get_players
nfl_get_games	Get NFL games	dates, seasons, team_ids, weeks, postseason, start_date, end_date, pagination
nfl_get_game_by_id	Get specific NFL game	id (required)
nfl_get_stats	Get NFL statistics	dates, seasons, team_ids, player_ids, game_ids, weeks, postseason, pagination
nfl_get_season_stats	Get season statistics	season, player_ids, team_ids, postseason, pagination
nfl_get_standings	Get team standings	season, conference, division
nfl_get_player_injuries	Get player injuries	player_ids, team_ids, pagination
nfl_get_advanced_rushing_stats	Get advanced rushing stats	season, week, player_ids, team_ids, position, pagination
nfl_get_advanced_passing_stats	Get advanced passing stats	Same as rushing
nfl_get_advanced_receiving_stats	Get advanced receiving stats	Same as rushing

MLB (12 tools)

Tool	Description	Parameters
mlb_get_teams	Get all MLB teams	division, league
mlb_get_team_by_id	Get specific MLB team	id (required)
mlb_get_players	Get MLB players	search, first_name, last_name, team_ids, player_ids, position, active, pagination
mlb_get_player_by_id	Get specific MLB player	id (required)
mlb_get_active_players	Get active MLB players	Same as mlb_get_players
mlb_get_games	Get MLB games	dates, seasons, team_ids, postseason, start_date, end_date, pagination
mlb_get_game_by_id	Get specific MLB game	id (required)
mlb_get_stats	Get MLB statistics	dates, seasons, team_ids, player_ids, game_ids, postseason, pagination
mlb_get_season_stats	Get season statistics	season, player_ids, team_ids, postseason, pagination
mlb_get_team_season_stats	Get team season stats	season, team_ids, postseason, pagination
mlb_get_standings	Get team standings	season, league, division
mlb_get_player_injuries	Get player injuries	player_ids, team_ids, pagination

EPL (16 tools)

Tool	Description	Parameters
epl_get_teams	Get all EPL teams	pagination
epl_get_team_by_id	Get specific EPL team	id (required)
epl_get_team_players	Get team players	id (required), pagination
epl_get_team_season_stats	Get team season stats	id (required), season, stat_types
epl_get_team_stats_leaders	Get team stat leaders	season, stat_type, per_page
epl_get_standings	Get EPL standings	season
epl_get_players	Get EPL players	search, team_ids, player_ids, position, pagination
epl_get_player_by_id	Get specific EPL player	id (required)
epl_get_player_season_stats	Get player season stats	id (required), season, stat_types
epl_get_player_stats_leaders	Get player stat leaders	season, stat_type, per_page
epl_get_games	Get EPL games	dates, seasons, team_ids, weeks, start_date, end_date, pagination
epl_get_game_by_id	Get specific EPL game	id (required)
epl_get_game_lineups	Get game lineups	id (required)
epl_get_game_goals	Get game goals	id (required)
epl_get_game_team_stats	Get game team stats	id (required)
epl_get_game_player_stats	Get game player stats	id (required)

NHL (12 tools)

Tool	Description	Parameters
nhl_get_teams	Get all NHL teams	conference, division, pagination
nhl_get_team_by_id	Get specific NHL team	id (required)
nhl_get_team_season_stats	Get team season stats	id (required), season
nhl_get_team_stats_leaders	Get team stat leaders	season, stat_type, per_page
nhl_get_players	Get NHL players	search, team_ids, player_ids, position, pagination
nhl_get_player_by_id	Get specific NHL player	id (required)
nhl_get_player_season_stats	Get player season stats	id (required), season
nhl_get_player_stats_leaders	Get player stat leaders	season, stat_type, per_page
nhl_get_games	Get NHL games	dates, seasons, team_ids, season_type, start_date, end_date, pagination
nhl_get_game_by_id	Get specific NHL game	id (required)
nhl_get_standings	Get NHL standings	season, conference, division
nhl_get_box_scores	Get NHL box scores	dates, seasons, team_ids, game_ids, season_type, pagination

Authentication

The server forwards Authorization headers to the BALLDONTLIE API. Your MCP client should include the API key in requests:

Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY

Error Handling

The server provides detailed error information:

• Authentication Errors (401): Missing or invalid API key
• Authorization Errors (403): Insufficient tier access
• Validation Errors (400): Invalid parameters
• Rate Limiting (429): Request rate exceeded
• Server Errors (5xx): Backend API issues

Development

# Clone and install
git clone <repository>
cd mcp-server
npm install

# Build
npm run build

# Run in development
npm run dev

# Clean build
npm run clean

API Tiers

BALLDONTLIE offers different tiers with varying access levels:

• Free: Basic endpoints (teams, players, games)
• ALL-STAR ($9.99/mo): Includes stats, injuries, standings
• GOAT ($39.99/mo): Full access including advanced stats, box scores, betting odds

Support

• BALLDONTLIE API Documentation
• Discord Community

License

MIT