Does fatigue affect the kinematics of shooting in female basketball?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Few studies investigated the influence of fatigue on the change of kinematic parameters in basketball shooting regarding female players. This study aimed to determine the difference of kinematics in basketball jump shot between non-fatigue and fatigue conditions. Thirty-two professional female basketball players volunteered to take part in the study (age: 22.11 ± 4.92 years; height: 173.99 ± 7.06 cm; weight: 67.89 ± 5.65 kg). 3D motion analysis using an inertial suit and a smart ball were performed for measuring the kinematic parameters. The results demonstrated that there were no significant differences in angular velocity of ankle, knee and hip joints. Conversely, differences in angular velocity of elbow (p = 0.036) and wrist (p = 0.002) were detected. In addition, the results showed that the release height and entry angle of the ball significantly decreased in fatigue condition, suggesting that coaches need to include in the training process exercise that is similar in terms of fatigue and performance to the situational condition during the game as these two variables play an important role in the determination of shooting efficiency.