Appearance
Possessions
The possessions section in the markings response contains an object for each team possession in the game. A team possession is a segment of the game that starts when one team gets the ball and ends when they lose the ball or the period ends.
Overview
While a chance ends when the clock stops or a shot is taken, a possession does not end if the offense retains possession after those events. So a situation where a team takes a shot, misses, gets the offensive rebound, gets fouled without free throws, inbounds the ball, and then turns the ball over are all part of one possession, even though that possession contains three chances.
Sample Response
json
{
"markings": {
"possessions": [
{
"defensive_team_id_nba": 1610612740,
"end_game_clock": 708.0,
"end_he_frame": 806,
"end_wall_clock": "2025-12-23T01:10:47.889+00:00",
"fg_dreb": 0,
"fg_oreb": 0,
"fga": 1,
"fga_pts": 2,
"fgm": 1,
"fta": 0,
"ftm": 0,
"game_id_nba": "0022500404",
"in_garbage_time": false,
"is_after_timeout": true,
"offensive_team_id_nba": 1610612742,
"period": 1,
"possession_id_ctg": "possession_640fb5737252cbe98b4f4a70dcee9d8f",
"possession_start_type": "jump_ball",
"start_game_clock": 720.0,
"start_he_frame": 118,
"start_score_away": 0,
"start_score_home": 0,
"start_wall_clock": "2025-12-23T01:10:36.423+00:00",
"tov": 0
}
]
}
}Fields
Identifiers
game_id_nba
Type: string
NBA game ID
possession_id_ctg
Type: string
CTG-generated unique possession ID
offensive_team_id_nba
Type: integer
NBA team ID of the offensive team
defensive_team_id_nba
Type: integer
NBA team ID of the defensive team
Timing
Period
period
Type: integer
Period in which the possession occurred. Overtime would be period 5, double overtime period 6, etc.
Start
start_he_frame
Type: integer
Hawk-Eye frame when possession began
start_wall_clock
Type: string
UTC timestamp when possession began
start_game_clock
Type: float
Game clock when possession began
end_he_frame
Type: integer
Hawk-Eye frame when possession ended
end_wall_clock
Type: string
UTC timestamp when possession ended
end_game_clock
Type: float
Game clock when possession ended
Context
possession_start_type
Type: string
How the possession began, taken from the chance_start_type of the first chance in the possession. See the chances documentation for possible values.
is_after_timeout
Type: boolean
true if the first chance of the possession immediately follows a timeout. This value comes from the first chance in the possession.
Score
start_score_home
Type: integer
Score of the home team at the start of the possession (from the first chance in the possession).
start_score_away
Type: integer
Score of the away team at the start of the possession (from the first chance in the possession).
Garbage Time
in_garbage_time
Type: boolean
true if the first chance of the possession occurred during "garbage time". See the chances documentation for the definition of garbage time.
Possession Outcomes
These fields describe the aggregated outcomes across all chances in the possession.
fgm
Type: integer
Total field goals made across all chances in the possession.
fga
Type: integer
Total field goal attempts across all chances in the possession.
fga_pts
Type: integer
Total points scored on field goal attempts across all chances in the possession (2 or 3 for made shots, 0 for misses).
ftm
Type: integer
Total free throws made across all chances in the possession.
fta
Type: integer
Total free throw attempts across all chances in the possession.
tov
Type: integer
Total turnovers across all chances in the possession.
fg_dreb
Type: integer
Total defensive rebounds on field goal attempts across all chances in the possession.
fg_oreb
Type: integer
Total offensive rebounds on field goal attempts across all chances in the possession.