LITHUANIAN SPORTS UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF SPORT BIOMEDICINE INTERNATIONAL MASTER’S IN PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF SPORTS OVIDIJUS KOKANAUSKAS Differences in using step-back between Euroleague and NBA. FINAL MASTER’S THESIS Scientific Supervisor: Final thesis supervisor recommends/ does not recommend the final thesis be assessed Evaluation of the final thesis: in grade and words Secretary of the Assessment Committee: N. Surname/ signature KAUNAS 2021 CONFIRMATION OF INDEPENDENT COMPOSITION OF THE THESIS I hereby declare, that the present final Master’s thesis (entitlement): DIFFERENCES IN USING STEP-BACK BETWEEN EUROLEAGUE AND NBA. 1. Has been carried out by myself; 2. Has not been used in any other university in Lithuania or abroad; 3. Have not used any references not indicated in the paper and the list of references is complete. 2021-05-13 Ovidijus Kokanauskas (Signature) CONFIRMATION OF LIABILITY FOR THE REGULARITY OF THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE I hereby confirm the correctness of the English language used in the final thesis. 2021-05-13 Ovidijus Kokanauskas (Signature) FINAL MASTER’S THESIS SUPERVISOR’S ASSESSMENT (Date) (Supervisor’s name and surname) (Signature) Reviewer of the final thesis: (Name, surname) (Study administrator, name, surname) (Signature) Reviewer of the final thesis: (Name, surname) (Study administrator, name, surname) (Signature) Final thesis supervisor: (Name, surname) (Study administrator, name, surname) (Signature) Final Master’s thesis has been placed in ETD IS ..…………………………….. (Study Administrator, name, surname, signature) 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 6 1 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................. 7 1.1 Basketball .......................................................................................................... 7 1.2 NBA and Euroleague differences ........................................................................ 7 1.3 Player positions ................................................................................................. 8 1.4 Performance analysis ......................................................................................... 9 1.5 Shooting action .................................................................................................11 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND ORGANIZATION .....................................................13 2.1 Research object ................................................................................................13 2.2 Research strategy and logic ...............................................................................13 2.3 The nature of research ......................................................................................13 2.4 Contingent of research subjects.........................................................................13 2.5 Research methods.............................................................................................13 2.6 Research organization .......................................................................................14 2.7 Methods of statistical analysis...........................................................................14 3 RESEARCH FINDINGS ................................................................................................15 4 CONSIDERATIONS ....................................................................................................19 CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................23 SUGGESTIONS OR RECCOMENDATIONS ...........................................................................24 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................25 3 ABSTRACT Differences in using the step-back between Euroleague and NBA. The aim of this study was to descriptively assess the step-back actions in Euroleague and NBA basketball leagues in 2018-2019 season, and to assess whether the contextual factors (players position, league, shot type, quarter, defenders’ position) are predictors of step-back effectiveness (successful/unsuccessful). Video analysis was the main research method of this investigation. Video footage of 2018-2019 basketball season, from 20 Euroleague and 20 NBA games (n=40) were randomly selected and analyzed. Contextual factor: players position (Guard, Forward, Center), league (Euroleague, NBA), shot type (2pt, 3pt), quarter (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4) and defenders position (Guard, Forward, Center), were selected as the predictors of step-back effectiveness. The results of descriptive statistics showed that NBA players took 96 step backs and Euroleague players shot 65. From all players guards took the step-back shots most often: 73.8% out of all step-backs recorded in Euroleague, and 70.8% in NBA. On the other hand, forwards were the ones that had the highest accuracy (%) of step-backs: 52.9% in Euroleague and 54.2% in NBA. Out of the selected contextual factors, only statistically significant predictor that provides more possibility of a successful step-back shot was the 2nd quarter compared with the 4th quarter (p=0.019) [Odds ratio (95% CI) = 0.322 (0.125; 0828)]. Key words: basketball, performance analysis, professional leagues, contextual factors 4 SANTRAUKA „Step-back“ metimo naudojimo skirtumai tarp Eurolygos ir NBA. Šio tyrimo tikslas buvo apibūdinančiai įvertinti „step-back“ veiksmus Eurolygos ir NBA krepšinio lygose 2018–2019 metų sezone ir įvertinti, ar kontekstiniai veiksniai (žaidėjų pozicija, lyga, metimo tipas, kėlinys, gynėjo pozicija) nuspėja „step-back“ metimo efektyvumą (sėkmingas / nesėkmingas metimas). Vaizdo analizė buvo pagrindinis šio tyrimo metodas. Atsitiktiniu būdu buvo atrinkti ir išanalizuoti vaizdo įrašai iš 2018–2019 metų krepšinio sezono: 20 Eurolygos rungtynių ir 20 NBA rungtynių (n = 40). Kontekstinis veiksnys: žaidėjų pozicija (gynėja, puolėjas, centras), lyga (Eurolyga, NBA), metimo tipas (dvitaškis, tritaškis), kėlinys (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4) ir gynėjo pozicija (gynėjas, puolėjas, centras) buvo pasirinkta kaip „step-back“ metimo efektyvumo prognozuotojai. Aprašomosios statistikos rezultatai parodė, kad NBA žaidėjai metė 96 metimus, o Eurolygos žaidėjai 65 metimus. Gynėjai dažniausiai atliko „step-back“ metimą: 73,8 proc. iš visų Eurolygoje užfiksuotų „step-back“ metimų ir 70,8 proc. iš NBA. Kita vertus, puolėjai buvo tie, kurie metė šiuos metimus tiksliausiai (%): 52,9% Eurolygoje ir 54,2% NBA. Vis dėlto, iš pasirinktų kontekstinių veiksnių vienintelis statistiškai reikšmingas prognozuojantis veiksnys, suteikiantis daugiau sėkmingo „step-back“ metimo galimybių, buvo antras (2) kėlinys, lyginant su ketvirtu (4) kėliniu (p = 0,019) [Odds ratio (95% CI) = 0,322 (0,125; 0828)]. Raktiniai žodžiai: krepšinis, sportinės veiklos analizė, profesionalios lygos, kontekstiniai faktoriai 5 INTRODUCTION In recent years, analytics has started to revolutionize the game of basketball: quantitative analyses of the game inform team strategy, management of player health and fitness, and how teams draft, sign, and trade players (Terner & Franks, 2020). Statistical analyses allow coaches to evaluate the effectiveness of individual, group and team play. Identification of the strong and weak points of a team or an athlete, as well as the elements that need improvement, is the key to permanent progress in performance (Esteves, Mikolajec, Schelling, Sampaio, 2021; Gryko, Mikalajec, Maszczyk, Cao & Adamczyk, 2018). Game statistics provide us with only limited insight and no information about the technical aspects of the shots. The lack of directly related work is understandable, because data on the technical execution of basketball shots are not readily available. In recent years, there have been substantial advancements in automated player and ball tracking. Technology implemented in the NBA, is capable of (semi-)automated recognition of such technical elements as shot type and defensive spacing, and these data are already being used in research. For other technical aspects and basketball competitions other than the NBA, researchers currently have no choice but to manually collect the data by visually inspecting games (Erčulj & Štrumbelj, 2015). In order to improve their teams’ performance, coaches have to determine which factors most differentiate a successful team from an unsuccessful team in both, the Euroleague (Özmen, 2016) and the NBA (Dehesa et al., 2019). Shooting is probably the best-known fundamental skill in basketball – every player is interested in scoring (Krause & Nelson, 2018). Shot selection is also driven by situational factors, strategy, and the ability of a player’s teammates (Terner & Franks, 2020). The step- back or hop-back jump shot requires shooters to alter their jump-shot footwork, especially against excellent defenders, from a basket penetration move to set up the shot. The basket penetration move clears space for a jump shot, such as three-pointer. In order to create space from the defender and take a balanced shot, the shooter needs to develop advanced footwork and ballhandling skills (Krause & Nelson, 2018). It seems that step-back shot is getting more and more popular, however there is no research yet investigating this shot type. The aim of this study was to descriptively assess the step-back actions in Euroleague and NBA basketball leagues in 2018-2019 season, and to assess