Performance Under Pressure in the NBA

Abstract

The authors analyze the effects of psychological pressure on performance using National Basketball Association (NBA) free throw data from the 2002-2003 through 2009-2010 seasons. The authors find evidence that players choke under pressurethey shoot on average 5-10 percentage points worse than normal in the final seconds of very close games. Choking is more likely for players who are worse overall free throw shooters, and on the second shot of a pair after the first shot is missed. In general, performance declines as pressure increases (as game time remaining decreases, and as the score margin decreases, whether the shooter's team is winning or losing). However, the authors find no evidence of choking when games are tied in the final 15 seconds.

Clutch performance in sport and exercise: a systematic review

“…Clutch performance was examined as an ability in just over half of the included studies, which primarily involved utilising archival designs. Measurement of performance in archival designs ranged from comparing performance within the same game (e.g., Wallace et al, 2013) to comparing performance with a career average (e.g., Cao et al, 2011), highlighting the unclear nature of what benchmark clutch performance should be compared against.…”

“…Neoclassic economic theory. One study (Cao et al, 2011) stated that 'neoclassical economic theory predicts that individuals exert the most effort, and consequently produce their best performances, when the returns to effort are highest' (p. 231). Little further information, however, was provided about this theory, and how the results may or may not support it.…”

“…These studies all examined archival, naturalistic performance data. The benchmarks against which performance was assessed ranged considerably, however, and included comparing performance against: career averages (Cao et al, 2011); previous season performance (e.g., Birnbaum, 2008); performance within the same season (e.g., Birnbaum, 2009); and, performance within the same game (e.g., Wallace et al, 2013). In one study performance was assessed against an athlete's projected performance (i.e., clutch ability was judged against performances that had not yet occurred; Deane & Palmer, 2006).…”

“…In one study performance was assessed against an athlete's projected performance (i.e., clutch ability was judged against performances that had not yet occurred; Deane & Palmer, 2006). Across all of these studies, performance was considered to have improved if there was a statistically significant increase compared to the respective performance benchmark (e.g., one's career average; Cao et al, 2011). Subjective measurement of performance, meanwhile, was adopted in one mixed methods study (Owens et al, 2016).…”

Performance under pressure in skill tasks: An analysis of professional darts

“…Attempts are more successful when the score is tied (which equals less pressure since a miss would end in an overtime and not a loss) [54]. Further evidence for choking under pressure in professional basketball is reported with performance declining with additional pressure [55]. However, the authors show performance to be unaffected by the crowd size, the tournament round, and whether or not it is a home game for the player considered.…”