NBA Schedule Telegram Bot

A Python bot that automatically fetches NBA game schedules from ESPN API and sends formatted messages to a Telegram chat.

Features

• Fetches daily NBA game schedule from ESPN API
• Converts game times to Arizona time (MST/MDT)
• Sends beautifully formatted messages to Telegram
• Easy to schedule with cron or Task Scheduler

Setup

1. Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or newer
• Internet connection
• Telegram Bot Token (already configured)
• Telegram Chat ID (your chat ID or channel ID)

2. Installation

# Navigate to the project directory
cd nba-schedule-bot

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Configuration

Get Telegram Chat ID

For Personal Chat:

1. Search for @userinfobot on Telegram
2. Start a conversation - it will show your Chat ID

For Group/Channel:

1. Add your bot to the group/channel as admin
2. Send a message in the group/channel
3. Visit: https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR_BOT_TOKEN>/getUpdates
4. Find the chat.id in the response

Set Chat ID

Option A: Environment Variable (Recommended)

export TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID="your_chat_id_here"

Option B: Edit Script Directly Edit nba_schedule_bot.py and replace:

• CHAT_ID = "YOUR_CHAT_ID" with your actual Chat ID

4. Test the Bot

python3 nba_schedule_bot.py

You should receive a message in your Telegram chat with today's NBA games.

Automation

macOS / Linux (Cron)

# Open crontab editor
crontab -e

# Add this line to run daily at 9:00 AM Arizona time
# Note: Adjust path to your script location
0 9 * * * /usr/bin/python3 /Users/joey/nba-schedule-bot/nba_schedule_bot.py >> /Users/joey/nba-schedule-bot/bot.log 2>&1

Note: Cron runs in system timezone. To run at 9:00 AM Arizona time regardless of server timezone, you may need to adjust the cron time based on your server's timezone.

Windows (Task Scheduler)

1. Open Task Scheduler
2. Create Basic Task
3. Set trigger: Daily at 09:00 AM
4. Set action: Start a program
   • Program: python (or full path to python.exe)
   • Arguments: "C:\path\to\nba_schedule_bot.py"
   • Start in: C:\path\to\

Alternative: Python Script Scheduler

For more control, you can use the provided scheduler:

pip install schedule
python3 scheduler.py

This will run the bot continuously and execute it daily at 9:00 AM.

Example Output

🏀 NBA Games Today (Nov 1, 2025):

Sacramento Kings @ Milwaukee Bucks — 2:00 PM MST
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Charlotte Hornets — 3:00 PM MST
Orlando Magic @ Washington Wizards — 4:00 PM MST
Golden State Warriors @ Indiana Pacers — 4:00 PM MST
Houston Rockets @ Boston Celtics — 5:00 PM MST
Dallas Mavericks @ Detroit Pistons — 7:00 PM MST

Troubleshooting

Bot doesn't send messages

• Verify CHAT_ID is correct
• Make sure you've started a conversation with your bot (for personal chats)
• Check that your bot has permission to send messages (for groups/channels)

Timezone issues

• The script uses America/Phoenix timezone (MST/MDT)
• To change timezone, modify the TIMEZONE variable in the script

API errors

• Check your internet connection
• ESPN API might be temporarily unavailable
• Verify the API URL is accessible

Optional Enhancements

• Add estimated halftimes (+45 min & +60 min)
• Include live scores if games are ongoing
• Add Telegram commands like /today, /tomorrow, /halftimes
• Log results to a file or database
• Add error notifications

License

Free to use and modify as needed.