`search_players`

Pack: nba · Endpoint: https://gateway.pipeworx.io/nba/mcp

Search for NBA players by name. Returns position, height, weight, college, and current team. Use get_player with the player ID for detailed stats and career history.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`query`	string	yes	Player name or partial name to search for
`limit`	number	no	Number of results to return (default: 10, max: 100)
`_apiKey`	string	yes	BallDontLie API key

Example call

Arguments

{
  "query": "LeBron James",
  "_apiKey": "your-nba-api-key"
}

curl

curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/nba/mcp \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"search_players","arguments":{"query":"LeBron James","_apiKey":"your-nba-api-key"}}}'

TypeScript (@pipeworx/sdk)

import { Pipeworx } from '@pipeworx/sdk';
const pipeworx = new Pipeworx();

const result = await pipeworx.call('search_players', {
  "query": "LeBron James",
  "_apiKey": "your-nba-api-key"
});

More examples

{
  "query": "Luka",
  "limit": 5,
  "_apiKey": "your-nba-api-key"
}

Response shape

Always returns: query, total, returned, players

Field	Type	Description
`query`	string	Search query for player names
`total`	number	Total count of matching players
`returned`	number	Number of players returned in this response
`players`	array	List of matching players

Full JSON Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "query": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Search query for player names"
    },
    "total": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Total count of matching players"
    },
    "returned": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Number of players returned in this response"
    },
    "players": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "List of matching players",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "id": {
            "type": "number",
            "description": "Player ID"
          },
          "name": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Full name (first + last)"
          },
          "position": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Player position"
          },
          "height": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Player height"
          },
          "weight": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Player weight"
          },
          "jersey_number": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Jersey number"
          },
          "college": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "College attended"
          },
          "country": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Country of origin"
          },
          "draft_year": {
            "type": [
              "number",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Year drafted"
          },
          "draft_round": {
            "type": [
              "number",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Draft round"
          },
          "draft_number": {
            "type": [
              "number",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Draft pick number"
          },
          "team": {
            "type": [
              "object",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Current team information",
            "properties": {
              "id": {
                "type": "number",
                "description": "Team ID"
              },
              "full_name": {
                "type": "string",
                "description": "Full team name"
              },
              "abbreviation": {
                "type": "string",
                "description": "Team abbreviation"
              },
              "city": {
                "type": "string",
                "description": "Team city"
              },
              "name": {
                "type": "string",
                "description": "Team name"
              },
              "conference": {
                "type": "string",
                "description": "Conference (East/West)"
              },
              "division": {
                "type": "string",
                "description": "Division name"
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "query",
    "total",
    "returned",
    "players"
  ]
}

Connect

Add this to your MCP client config, or use one-click install buttons:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nba": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/nba/mcp"
    }
  }
}

See Getting Started for client-specific install steps.

search_players