AI Article Synopsis
- - The COVID-19 pandemic led to an NBA suspension in 2020, and this study is the first to investigate its effects on player performance after recovery and return to the game.
- - Researchers compared NBA players' statistics during the 2019-2020 season and in the NBA bubble, finding those who recovered from COVID-19 played fewer minutes and had a slight decrease in various performance metrics, although some were not significant.
- - The study concluded that despite playing less in the bubble, the performance of recovered players was similar to their pre-COVID levels, with the exception of increased free throw accuracy.
Article Abstract
Background: The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has had far-reaching implications for the world of professional sports. The National Basketball Association (NBA) suspended active regular season play in 2020 after a player tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. No previous studies have examined the impact of COVID-19 on return to play in the NBA.
Purpose/hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to examine performance measures for NBA players who had recovered from COVID-19 and returned to play in the NBA bubble. We hypothesized that these athletes would play fewer minutes and have decreased performance statistics compared with performance during the 2019-2020 regular season prior to the lockdown and with career averages.
Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.
Methods: NBA players positive for SARS-CoV-2 who played in both the 2019-2020 regular season and the NBA bubble were identified. Data collected included player demographics and player performance statistics.
Results: A total of 20 players were included in the study. Players who had recovered from COVID-19 played significantly fewer minutes per game in the NBA bubble (25.8 vs 28.7; = .04) and made fewer field goals per game (4.6 vs 5.4; = .02) compared with the season prior to shutdown. While NBA bubble players demonstrated slight decreases in averages for points ( = .06), rebounds ( =.13), assists ( = .23), steals ( = .30), and blocks ( = .71) per game, these were not statistically significant. Aside from an increase in made free throws per game during the bubble (3.3 vs 2.8; = .04), player performance was not significantly different from career averages.
Conclusion: For players who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 prior to playing in the NBA bubble, the current study demonstrated that despite playing significantly fewer minutes per game, performance was not statistically different from either their pre-COVID 2019-2020 level of play or from their career averages.
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|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8010822 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23259671211004531 | DOI Listing |
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