In the last 10 years, many papers addressed the performance profile of basketball players during match-play. All these studies were synthetized in a recently published systematic review. It has been shown that during live playing time across 40-min matches, male and female basketball players travel 5–6 km at average physiological intensities above lactate threshold and 85% of maximal heart rate. Games are mainly characterized by a live time / stoppage time ratio of 1:1. Basketball games are characterized by a decrease of the activity demand towards the end of the game due to possible fatigue-related mechanisms and tactical strategies, which increases the stoppage time. Previous literature also showed that different playing levels and playing positions influence the activity demands and physiological responses experienced by basketball players during match-play. Guards and high-level basketball players documented a higher workload than centers and lower-level players, respectively. Finally, male players experienced a higher physical and physiological demands compare to their female counterparts during a basketball game.

References

  1. Conte, D., Favero, T. G., Lupo, C., Francioni, F. M., Capranica, L., & Tessitore, A. (2015). Time-motion analysis of Italian elite women’s basketball games: Individual and team analyses. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 29(1), 144-150

  2. Conte, D., Tessitore, A., Smiley, K., Thomas, C., & Favero, T. G. (2016). Performance profile of NCAA division I men’s basketball games and training sessions. Biology of sport, 33(2), 189.