Basketball ball maker Wilson, which supplies the official ball for the NCAA’s March Madness, is teaming up with HomeCourt in a promotional partnership that seeks to put more basketballs and training resources in athletes’ hands.
Wilson announced this week that it will offer a free HomeCourt Plus annual subscription with the purchase of select balls at Dick’s Sporting Goods stores through May 6. Every Wilson NCAA game ball, NCAA special edition ball, and Evolution ball sold at Dick’s is included.
The partnership is meant to introduce more basketball fans to HomeCourt’s training platform, which uses computer vision to track an athlete’s movements as he or she trains, offering real-time advice and insights. HomeCourt was developed by NEX Team, an artificial intelligence company formed by a group of former Apple, Google, and Facebook engineers.
“Wilson has been a pioneer in powering basketball players to help them reach their potential,” said Alex Wu, a NEX Team co-founder and its VP of strategy and marketing communications. “They’re providing a way for us to reach basketball players directly.”
The technology already has amassed a loyal community of athletes, including 11-year-old Lanie Grant, who has taken more than 100,000 shots on the platform and has already attracted attention from the WNBA. More than 10 million shots have been taken by HomeCourt users in total over the past few months.
No. 1 seed Duke and a few NBA teams have additionally deployed HomeCourt at practice to gain insights that coaches might not be able to see, such as shot angle trajectory and layup speed.
Also tied to the tourney, HomeCourt has introduced HomeCourt Rewards (Beta), which offers users prizes for competitions held on the platform. For example, HomeCourt will unlock a one-time discount code on a person’s entire purchase on Wilson.com if they make 68 shots (reflecting the 68 teams in the NCAA tournament), between Mar. 21 and Apr. 21. Another March Madness-themed challenge includes a buzzer beater Reign half court challenge, where users who sink a half court shot can win a Wilson limited edition NCAA Reign basketball—one of only 100 in production.
The Wilson deal marks HomeCourt’s first branded partnership, however Wu said the company will likely seek additional partnerships in the future as it looks to offer more gamified experiences and sponsored competitions. The overarching goal is to make basketball, and physical activity in general, more fun and insightful, he said.
“Basketball is not a quick-hit thing—it’s about putting in consistent effort, and we want to make sure our app can facilitate that and make that consistent effort easier to do and more fun,” Wu said. “You can now finally see the work you’re putting in is paying dividends. And if practice becomes more fun, you’re going to want to practice more.”
In addition to launching more challenges in the coming months, Wu said HomeCourt will continue to bulk its training capabilities. The company already pushes out new releases every two weeks, which brings users a fresh batch of drills and skills games.
“We’re just getting started,” Wu said. “In the future as we continue to grow and learn about what our community wants and needs, we can start to introduce more engaging experiences over time.”