Does nba.com block AI crawlers?
Blocks AI training and AI answers
nba.com blocks both AI training crawlers and AI answer crawlers in its robots.txt.
Checked from nba.com/robots.txt. Robots rules change; the live file is the source of truth.
- AI crawlers blocked
- 7 of 12
- AI bots named in robots.txt
- 9
- llms.txt
- Not found
- Popularity
- Tranco top 5,000 (#2,487)
Can AI assistants cite nba.com?
- ChatGPT search: its search crawler is blocked
- Claude: its search crawlers may read the site
- Perplexity: its search crawler is blocked
nba.com opts out of AI training by OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Apple, Common Crawl. Training crawlers and answer crawlers are separate: blocking training doesn't by itself remove a site from AI answers.
AI crawler access, bot by bot
| Crawler | Used for | Status on nba.com |
|---|---|---|
| GPTBotOpenAI | AI training | Blocked |
| OAI-SearchBotOpenAI | AI answers | Allowed |
| ChatGPT-UserOpenAI | AI answers | Blocked |
| ClaudeBotAnthropic | AI training | Blocked |
| Claude-SearchBotAnthropic | AI answers | Some paths restricted |
| Claude-UserAnthropic | AI answers | Some paths restricted |
| PerplexityBotPerplexity | AI answers | Blocked |
| Google-ExtendedGoogle | AI training | Blocked |
| Applebot-ExtendedApple | AI training | Blocked |
| CCBotCommon Crawl | AI training | Blocked |
| BytespiderByteDance | AI training | Some paths restricted |
| Meta-ExternalAgentMeta | AI training | Some paths restricted |
How nba.com compares
- 19% of the 1,278 popular sites we checked block GPTBot; nba.com is one of them.
- 18% of the 1,278 popular sites we checked block ClaudeBot; nba.com is one of them.
- 14% of the 1,278 popular sites we checked block PerplexityBot; nba.com is one of them.
- Among 197 sites of similar popularity, 19% block at least one AI crawler.
The robots.txt rules that apply to AI crawlers
User-agent: * Disallow: /amp/ Disallow: /api/* Disallow: /mediacentral/* Disallow: /search Disallow: /video/partners/ Disallow: /stats/events/ Disallow: /how-to-watch-game-redirect Disallow: /suns/tickets/vervelounge_requests.html Disallow: /blazers/node/ Disallow: /bobcats/node/ Disallow: /bucks/node/ Disallow: /bulls/node/ Disallow: /cavaliers/node/ Disallow: /celtics/node/ Disallow: /clippers/node/ Disallow: /grizzlies/node/ Disallow: /hawks/node/ Disallow: /heat/node/ Disallow: /jazz/node/ Disallow: /kings/node/ Disallow: /knicks/node/ Disallow: /lakers/node/ Disallow: /magic/node/ Disallow: /mavericks/node/ Disallow: /nets/node/ Disallow: /nuggets/node/ Disallow: /pacers/node/ Disallow: /pelicans/node/ Disallow: /pistons/node/ Disallow: /raptors/node/ Disallow: /rockets/node/ Disallow: /sixers/node/ Disallow: /spurs/node/ Disallow: /suns/node/ Disallow: /thunder/node/ Disallow: /timberwolves/node/ Disallow: /warriors/node/ Disallow: /wizards/node/ Disallow: /blazers/users/ Disallow: /bobcats/users/ User-agent: GPTBot Disallow: / Allow: /standings Allow: /schedule Allow: /stats/help/glossary Allow: /stats/draft/history Allow: /stats/help/statminimums Allow: /stats/history Allow: /players Allow: /player/*profile$ Allow: /team/* Disallow: /team/*/schedule$ User-agent: Google-Extended Disallow: / Allow: /standings Allow: /schedule Allow: /stats/help/glossary Allow: /stats/draft/history Allow: /stats/help/statminimums Allow: /stats/history Allow: /players Allow: /player/*profile$ Allow: /team/* Disallow: /team/*/schedule$ User-agent: anthropic-ai Disallow: / User-agent: Applebot-Extended Disallow: / User-agent: CCBot Disallow: / User-agent: ChatGPT-User Disallow: / User-agent: ClaudeBot Disallow: / User-agent: Google-Extended Disallow: / User-agent: GPTBot Disallow: / User-agent: OAI-SearchBot Allow: / User-agent: PerplexityBot Disallow: /
Excerpt: only groups for all user-agents (*) or named AI crawlers, up to 40 rules per group.
Sites with a similar AI policy
Does nba.com block GPTBot?
Yes. As of Oct 2, 2026, nba.com's robots.txt disallows GPTBot, OpenAI's training crawler.
Can ChatGPT search show results from nba.com?
Its robots.txt blocks a ChatGPT search crawler, so ChatGPT search is unlikely to read or cite those pages.
Does nba.com have an llms.txt file?
We didn't find a valid llms.txt at nba.com/llms.txt when we checked.
Data: nba.com's public robots.txt and llms.txt, fetched by AskableHQ. Popularity rank from the Tranco list (ID Y83YG). Methodology.