Current Developments in Match Analysis: Applications in Basketball
Chapter from the book:
Ekici,
S.
(ed.)
2025.
Current Approaches in Sports Science: Training, Performance, and Analytical Applications.
Synopsis
This study examines the conceptual foundations, historical development, current technological applications, and coaches' in-game decision-making processes in basketball match analysis from an academic perspective. Match analysis refers to the systematic evaluation, interpretation, and improvement of performance based on objective criteria in sports sciences. In basketball, this process encompasses the recording, coding, and analysis of offensive and defensive organizations, individual and collective movements, tactical preferences, and physical performance indicators across three fundamental stages: pre-game, in-game, and post-game. Modern basketball match analysis exhibits a multidimensional structure through video analysis, biomechanical measurements, player tracking systems, and artificial intelligence-supported technologies, extending beyond mere statistical data collection. The first section of the study explains the definition of match analysis, its importance for coaches, data collection-processing-application stages, and types of analysis. The second section examines the historical evolution of basketball analysis across four periods: the Traditional Period (pre-1990), the Digital Transition Period (1990s–2000s), the Analytics Revolution (2004–2015), and the Technology and Artificial Intelligence Era (2015–present). The third section details the technical features, functional infrastructure, and usage areas at the EuroLeague and Turkish Basketball Super League levels of real-time in-game analysis platforms such as Synergy Sports Technology, Hudl, FastScout, TurboStats, ShotTracker, and Hoopsalytics. The fourth section explains coaches' analysis and strategies during timeout processes, halftime evaluations and second-half adjustments, player rotation and lineup management, and decision-making mechanisms in critical moments during the final stages of games, supported by scientific studies and practical examples from EuroLeague coaches such as Sarunas Jasikevicius, Ergin Ataman, and Georgios Bartzokas. The study demonstrates that match analysis in modern basketball is achieved through the integration of technological infrastructure, data interpretation competency, and effective communication.
