High contact

February 15, 2025 | 12:00am

We all know that basketball is a contact sport. But a recent study suggests that it is a very high contact sport, and athletes should prepare accordingly. James Naismith designed basketball primarily as a no-contact alternative sport for indoor play. It kept young men occupied during harsh winters. But with various developments in the sport, that has all changed. The stakes are higher. Teams are more desperate. Everyone is willing to do whatever it takes to win.

A study by Dennis Wellm et al., carried by the National Institutes for Health, using various methods, reviewed 2,069 player contacts during actual games. It revealed that centers experienced the most contact at 40.5 percent, followed by power forwards, point guards, shooting guards, and lastly, small forwards with the least contact at 9.3 percent. Half-court defense and set plays provided the majority of physical contact across all in-game scenarios. Screening and setting pics are the source of most physical contact at 25.7 percent, followed by boxing out at 22.9 percent. fighting for position is third at 18 percent. 

The study also took into account variables such as gender, team quality, playing position, ball possession status, game period, game outcome, final score differences (per period), and accumulated point differences per period). “Ultimately, the external load (like acceleration) influences the degree of internal load (e.g., cardiovascular or metabolic) that represent the psychobiological response to the stimuli imposed by physical practice and game demands.”

Although it may sound like the study is telling us something we already know, it is useful in that it quantifies what we observe, particularly in professional games. However, we have to take a look at the context of the study. North American basketball, while similar to Philippine basketball, is not representative of basketball around the entire world. European ball, for example, employs much less dribbling, more outside shooting and better passing. This would diminish the number of physical contacts, as well as its nature.

Since 2012 in the NBA, meanwhile, three-point shooting has taken off. This has increased the number of screens and picks set by teams. Therefore, we would think that there would be much more physical contact in this area. Teams are employing more rugged defense, more so since the rules tend to favor the offensive players greatly. It would also be interesting to compare today›s NBA with its more intense 1990s version.

The study further recommends that “Future research should consider whether the number of contacts between players has increased over the years, and it should acknowledge the impact of player contacts on performance in basketball in order to refine training strategies and enhance player well-being.” The answer may seem obvious.