Chris Benyarko, is at the center of the NBA's global digital revolution. He is the architect behind the league's flagship platforms—including the reimagined NBA app, the NBA ID membership program, and the global delivery of NBA League Pass—all while overseeing the complex technology that powers the NBA's worldwide media business. Benyarko's mission is clear: leverage cutting-edge tools, from machine learning to new "Tap to Watch" features, to simplify fan engagement and deepen the connection between a global audience and the on-court action. 

With a background in engineering and a life-long sports fan, working in the NBA for the last 15 years has afforded Benyarko, the Executive Vice President of Direct-to-Consumer Products, Technology, and Operations, to blend both of his worlds,

“I'm a huge sports fan. Obviously, I went to school and studied engineering, and so the possibility of finding two of my passions, I couldn’t have imagined doing something else,” Benyarko told BET.com. “Being at the NBA was really unique about the experiences because we’re working on something new every day, for every consumer focus, and also just our investment in innovation, which is the part I always love. I feel like every few years I'm doing something brand new. So it's exciting.”

With so many technological advances and brand new products that the league is introducing during the first week of the season, Benyarko explained how this is the most hectic part of the season for him and his team.

“We have a great staff and team, and everything we do is in collaboration, and to answer your exact question, yes, it's been the busiest time,” Benyarko said.

“We laid out a plan about focusing on our live game experience using technology to personalize the fan experience and deepen engagement, grow our audience, and also do that on a global scale,” Benyarko continued. “So we're going into the year with one of our big initiatives is us now having all of our national games and nearly all of our games that appear in local markets available in digital services.”

For Benyarko, the collaborative approach has been essential to the league's success and push to be innovative.

“Our content team is developing content that they will post to social media, thinking about new ways and new formats to engage people, to get them into the live game. Our partnership team is going across our partnership ecosystem and understanding what's important to our partners,” he said. “There's nothing that we as a league do independently. It's a partnership with partners, teams, and players working together with those kinds of core thematics.”

When it comes to some of his favorite tech features that he’s worked on, among them is the real-time scoring feature in the NBA App.  As the home for all NBA content, the app offers users live scores, game stats, and standings that are designed to be as close to the action on the court as possible. 

“I would group my favorite list of things into kind of one single category, which helps me follow the game. And so I go to the game section. We're also releasing a new feature. It's called Real Time scores, where you actually will see a live ticking clock, as if you were in an arena, and seeing the scores and the clock update just gives you more of that kind of connection and feel, and being at the live game,” he said.

Another aspect of Benyarko’s work is the NBA’s  collaboration with the AfroTech Conference where the league connects basketball culture with the tech industry, focusing on career development for Black professionals. Key initiatives include the NBA Foundation sponsoring students to attend AfroTech, hosting tech challenges, and showcasing their latest innovations.

“AfroTech is one of the major technology events on our calendar. All of our partners have big developer conferences,” Benyarko shared. “AfroTech allows us to showcase the technology we're working on, but also provides an opportunity to learn, network, and see what other technology is happening in space. We've been lucky over the last few years to actually show up there in a really major way.”

“The last two years, in what we call our home markets, because it's where an NBA team plays. It was in Houston last year and this upcoming year,” Benyarko continued. “This year, in combination with the Rockets, we also added in AWS, the Official Cloud and Cloud AI Partner of the NBA and its affiliates. I'll break the news here and tell you we're bringing the Larry O'Brien trophy. We’re trying to engage fans in a major way.”

With the NBA and its partners driving innovation through technology, Benyarko wants fans to embrace new and fresh ways to watch the game they love.

“Technology is where the world is going with the growth happening with the trend is there, and change does take time. When things are different, it takes time to adjust to it,” Benyarko said. “But we want to help our fans experience all the best from the league and our partners at the highest level this season and beyond.”