Basketball shot types and shot success in different levels of competitive basketball.

Frane Erčulj,Erik Štrumbelj,Dante R Chialvo

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0128885

Abstract

The purpose of our research was to investigate the relative frequencies of different types of basketball shots (above head, hook shot, layup, dunk, tip-in), some details about their technical execution (one-legged, two-legged, drive, cut, …), and shot success in different levels of basketball competitions. We analysed video footage and categorized 5024 basketball shots from 40 basketball games and 5 different levels of competitive basketball (National Basketball Association (NBA), Euroleague, Slovenian 1st Division, and two Youth basketball competitions). Statistical analysis with hierarchical multinomial logistic regression models reveals that there are substantial differences between competitions. However, most differences decrease or disappear entirely after we adjust for differences in situations that arise in different competitions (shot location, player type, and attacks in transition). Differences after adjustment are mostly between the Senior and Youth competitions: more shots executed jumping or standing on one leg, more uncategorised shot types, and more dribbling or cutting to the basket in the Youth competitions, which can all be attributed to lesser technical and physical ability of developing basketball players. The two discernible differences within the Senior competitions are that, in the NBA, dunks are more frequent and hook shots are less frequent compared to European basketball, which can be attributed to better athleticism of NBA players. The effect situational variables have on shot types and shot success are found to be very similar for all competitions.

Highlights

The non-free-throw basketball shot is the primary way of scoring and one of the most frequent and important technical elements in competitive basketball [1]
We report two sets of estimates: 1. Estimates using Model 1. These estimates can be used to compare the raw relative frequencies across competitions. They could be used to compare the underlying shot type selection process only if we could assume that all competitions have the same distribution of situations that arise or that the situation in which the shot was made does not influence the choice of technique or shot success
National Basketball Association (NBA) and Euroleague teams and players are superior to Slovenian Division 1 teams and players, so the lack of substantial statistical dissimilarities implies that players’ defensive and offensive abilities scale if we move up or down in level of competition

Summary

Introduction

The non-free-throw basketball shot (or field goal) is the primary way of scoring and one of the most frequent and important technical elements in competitive basketball [1]. As a first step towards improving the quality of the basketball training process, we require a better understanding of which basketball shot techniques are executed more frequently in competition and in which situations. We want to understand how large the differences between age groups and levels of competition are, in particular, between Youth and Senior level or between European basketball and the National Basketball Association (NBA). In such cases we would expect that major differences in athleticism (especially between youth and senior basketball) and overall technical ability, would have an effect on shot type selection and technique

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Conclusion