Training and performance of basketball players: Current practice and future options : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University

Abstract

Over the past few decades, basketball has become one of the most popular team sports, in terms of participation globally, and is rapidly growing among youth in New Zealand. In New Zealand, basketball athletes can often compete simultaneously in national representative, age-grade, and regional club competitions, leading to a demanding schedule where they may play two to three games per week. Between April and October, during the regular season, these athletes could participate in 40-50 games across both 3x3 and 5x5 formats. Such an intense schedule requires rigorous physical conditioning during the preparatory phase, between January and March, to ensure players can endure the training and games during the competitive season. However, there is a gap in the literature on load monitoring in basketball due to factors such as teams withholding information for commercial reasons, the high cost of technology, and the complexity of analysing and applying the numerous physical variables available. In this thesis, I set out to bridge the gap by developing a framework to better understand the movement and load characteristics in both training and games. The thesis is presented as three journal articles, each contributing to the understanding and application of load monitoring in basketball. The first article investigates the validity and reliability of VXSport (Omni) devices in measuring basketball-specific movement parameters. This study provides a foundation for accurately tracking the external load of players in both training and games, addressing a significant challenge in basketball. The second article quantifies the internal and external loads of basketball players across two in-season phases, highlighting the differences in load management strategies between training sessions and games. This research highlights the need for more tailored load monitoring approaches to optimise performance. The third article applied the insights from the first two studies to evaluate the effectiveness of blood flow restriction (BFR) training during a taper phase. This paper demonstrates how BFR can be used to maintain performance, and in some cases, improve performance, such as sprint times (5m and 10m), barbell back squat, and countermovement jump (CMJ) height, while reducing overall training load, offering a practical solution for managing player fatigue during critical periods of the season. Collectively, this thesis demonstrates the importance of accurate, context-specific load monitoring in basketball and proposes the integration of advanced monitoring techniques with innovative training interventions like BFR to enhance player performance and longevity in the sport.