Power and agility testing within the NBA pre-draft combine

Abstract

Considering agility is a prerequisite for basketball performance and several agility tests have been used during the pre-draft assessment of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the aimed of this study was to examine the associations between pre-draft athletes´ performance scores in NBA draft combine testing protocol. The performance of 480 athletes invited to the NBA pre-draft assessment from 2010 to 2017 was considered. Tests in the NBA Draft Combine considered in this study included the Shuttle Run Test, Lane Agility Test, Sprint Test, and Jump Test (standing vertical leap). Zero order correlations were calculated to examine the associations between performance tests by fitting Bayesian linear regression models. Among running testing, both Shuttle Run Test [r=0.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.34 to 0.56) and Sprint Test (r=0.45, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.54) were moderately associated with the Lane Agility Test. The association between the Sprint Test and Shuttle Run Test was moderate at best (r=0.27, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.38). Correlations between Jump Test and running tests were moderate to large, ranging from -0.51 to -0.19 (Lane Agility Test: r=-0.33, 95% CI -0.42 to -0.24; Shuttle Run Test: r=-0.19, 95% CI -0.31 to -0.07; Sprint Test: r=-0.51, 95% CI -0.59 to -0.43). As a conclusion, we found a moderate to large correlations between the tests performance of the NBA Draft Combine, implying that the overall procedures may provide in part overlapping information about basketball maximal short term performance.

The Athletic Intelligence Quotient and performance in the National Basketball Association

“…The NBA Draft Combine is an annual event designed to examine the league's top prospects by testing athletes' anthropometry, strength, agility, and shooting skills, with teams also conducting medical examinations and interviews with prospective players. The current format for the Combine was developed by the National Basketball Coaches Association (NBCA) testing committee in 2000, allowing for standardized performance testing and leading to more efficient talent evaluation (Milan et al, 2019). Each drill or measurement was selected to represent the most valid and reliable assessment available of basketball performance and the physical qualities that underpin success in this sport (Teramoto et al, 2018).…”

Jumping to conclusions – an analysis of the NBA Draft Combine athleticism data and its influence on managerial decision-making

“…"Athleticism" is a broad term that often gets discussed in the basketball realm, especially in connection with the NBA Draft Combine (e.g. Cui et al, 2019;Milan et al, 2019;Ranisavljev et al, 2020;Perrin and Jensen, 2019) . Generally viewed as a critical component for basketball performance, "athleticism" is a factor supposedly investigated closely by general managers via scouting and statistical work, when evaluating players in their pre-draft process (e.g.…”