ANTHROPOMETRIC AND JUMP PROFILES ACCORDING TO PLAYER POSITION IN A PROFESSIONAL, MALE BASKETBALL TEAM COMPETING IN THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE.

The aim of this study was to quantify and compare the anthropometric and jump profiles of professional, male basketball players competing in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) according to general playing positions. Fourteen (n = 14) players from one team competing in the NBL (24.2 ± 3.2 years; range 20--31 years) were categorised according to frontcourt (i.e., forwards and centres; n = 8) and backcourt (i.e., guards; n = 6) positional groups by head coach. Players were tested during the pre-season for playing height, body mass, standing reach, wingspan, standing vertical jump height, running vertical jump height, drop jump reactive strength index, drop jump height, drop jump contact time, and drop jump flight time. Data were determined as medians ([lower quartile, upper quartile]) with Mann-Whitney U tests and rank biserial correlations (r). Frontcourt players had statistically significantly (p <0.05) greater playing height (cm; 203.7 [201.9, 207.3] vs. 194.1 [191.5, 195.2], r = 1.0, p <0.001), body mass (kg; 97.2 [93.9, 100.6] vs. 87.2 [83.8, 89.4], r = 0.79, p = 0.013), standing reach (cm; 269.0 [265.5, 274.0] vs. 254.5 [252.5, 255.0], r = 1.0, p = 0.002), and wingspan (cm; 211.5 [207.3, 212.3] vs. 195.0 [194.3, 197.3], r = 1.0, p = 0.002) than their backcourt counterparts. No statistically significant differences were observed for age, relative wingspan, or any jump metrics. This study provides an initial dataset to reference for key anthropometric and jump performance variables in NBL players. While anthropometric profiles discriminate between positional groups, jumping performance appears to be similar across positions, likely emphasising the frequent reliance on jumping ability to execute various game tasks in both backcourt and frontcourt players. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR