Body Height of Elite Basketball Players: Do Taller Basketball Teams Rank Better at the FIBA World Cup?

Ivan Zarić, Filip Kukić, Nemanja Jovićević, Milan Zarić, Milan Marković, Lazar Toskić and Milivoj Dopsaj
Additional contact information
Ivan Zarić: Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Filip Kukić: Police Sports Education Center, Abu Dhabi 253, UAE
Nemanja Jovićević: Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Milan Zarić: Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Milan Marković: Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Lazar Toskić: Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Priština, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia
Milivoj Dopsaj: Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-9

Abstract: Body height is among the most important attributes of basketball players. Whether it differs among the basketball players who compete at the world basketball championship (FIBA-WC) is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences between the basketball players from the teams ranked 1–16 and those ranked below 16th place. The body heights of all players from the last three FIBA-WCs were collected and allocated according to the ranking at the FIBA-WC and analyzed by position in team. An independent sample t-test was conducted to analyze the difference in body height of players ranked 1–16 and players who ranked below 16th place. The players from the first 16 teams were significantly taller at three positions: point guards (Difference = 2.92 cm, p < 0.05), shooting guards (Difference = 2.16 cm, p < 0.05), and small forwards (Difference = 2.49 cm, p < 0.01). Body height seems to be an important factor for the performance of the basketball team at the FIBA-WC. Considering that all players at the FIBA-WC went through rigorous selection process to be in their national teams, body height of the higher-ranked players could be used as a reference value.

Keywords: performance modelling; selection; talent acquisition; anthropology; morphology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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