Changes in Basketball Shooting Patterns as a Function of Distance

Abstract

The effect of distance on the accuracy and movement form in basketball shooting was examined using a dynamic systems approach. Five male and five female young adults ( M = 26 yr.) with no basketball experience beyond regular physical education shot a basketball 20 times at each of eight distances from 5 to 40 ft. (Natural condition). Also, they pretended to shoot the ball 5 times at each of the eight distances, for a total of 200 shots each (Pretend condition). In the Natural condition, shooting accuracy significantly decreased as shooting distance increased. Across both conditions and across four body components (feet position, hand position, trunk rotation, and jump height), the participants shifted from one movement pattern to another 86.3% of the time as shooting distance increased. The distances at which the transitions occurred were significantly shorter in the Natural than the Pretend condition for the feet and hand components but not the trunk and jump-height components. These results indicated that shooting a basketball at increasing distances can be portrayed as a dynamic system characterized by abrupt changes in at least four body components at critical distances.