NBA what-if simulator

NBA matchup simulator: any player, any era we have cached

Ball is Life is an NBA what-if simulator for historical players and teams. Guests run seven classic primes in 1v1. Signed-in Free can search more players at prime season. Paid plans add team versus team, custom lineups, brackets, and AI stories. Entertainment only — not a trade machine and not betting advice.

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Settle a debate first

These answer pages already have a published model favorite.

All classic scenarios

Simulator FAQ

What is Ball is Life?

Ball is Life is an NBA what-if simulator and subscription product. You pick historical players or teams, a simulation engine estimates a win probability from cached stats, and AI writes a short scenario. It is entertainment only, not betting advice, and it is not affiliated with the NBA.

How do the what-if simulations work?

Win math runs in a TypeScript simulation on our servers, not in the language model. The engine scores each side from historical per-game stats, then runs thousands of noisy iterations to estimate how often one side comes out ahead. Claude writes the story around that result.

Who would win Michael Jordan vs LeBron James?

There is no official answer. Ball is Life simulates a chosen historical season for each player — by default Jordan’s 1995-96 Chicago numbers against LeBron’s 2012-13 Miami numbers — and reports a model favorite. Open the Jordan vs LeBron scenario or run the matchup yourself to see the current simulation.

Is Ball is Life betting advice?

No. Outputs are hypothetical entertainment. Stats omit recent seasons on purpose so the product is not useful for current or last-season betting. Do not use it to place wagers or as a prediction of real games.

Is Ball is Life affiliated with the NBA?

No. Ball is Life is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the NBA or its teams or players. Team and player names appear as plain text for historical reference. We do not use official logos.

What can I run for free?

Guests can run classic 1v1 primes (Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, Shaq, Bird, Magic, and Curry). A free signed-in account can search more players at their prime season, with a daily matchup cap. Paid plans unlock team vs team, custom teams, 2v2/3v3, brackets, and richer AI write-ups.

How much does a Ball is Life subscription cost?

Casual is $5/month, Fan is $9.99, Super Fan is $19.99, Diehard is $49.99, and Stan is $99, all in USD. Free remains available. Upgrade and cancel from the Account page through Clerk Billing.

Why are current NBA seasons missing?

The catalog is historical on purpose. Seasons from roughly the last one to two years are excluded so the product cannot be used as a live-betting edge. In 2026 that means recent and current campaigns stay out of the simulator.