Teamwork and Decision Making among Basketball Referees: The 3PO Principle, Refereeing Level, and Experience

Abstract

In this study, the three-person officiating (3PO) principle was employed as an innovative method to examine decision-making (DM) processes among basketball referees. We aimed at exploring whether the ranking, experience, and teamwork among 25 basketball referees could predict accuracy of DM in ambiguous situations taken from basketball games. An analysis of 283 officiating cases taken from 100 filmed games was conducted. The events were then classified by nine experts according to whether the officiating decision was accurate, and which referee (Lead, Center or Trail) was standing in the main coverage area, as per the 3PO principle, when the decision was made. Our findings indicate that the teamwork (coordination) component was associated with the quality of DM. Of the 283 events, 60 decisions (21%) were not made from the recommended position according to the 3PO principle; 49 of those decisions were incorrect. The findings are discussed from both developmental and instructional perspectives.

Cognitive Development and Decision Making in Basketball: A Comparison between Male Players with and without Intellectual Impairment and across Different Age-Groups

“…Three university level basketball experts, each with over 15 years of experience in teaching and coaching at the university level, initially selected the game situations, determined the shot clock times, and agreed upon the correct decisions for each scenario. In line with protocols employed in previous studies to assess decision making from a sample of real-game situations (Sabag et al, 2023), a panel of seven experts, each having over 20 years of basketball experience, refined and finalized this initial selection. For each photograph depicting a game situation, the experts were tasked with identifying the optimal decision that the player in possession of the ball should make.…”