Players in the Women's National Basketball Association Are More Likely to Tear Their Anterior Cruciate Ligament if They Are a Guard, Forward, or Driving to the Basket: A Case-Control Study

The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) has grown in popularity since its induction in 1996. Furthermore, it is well known that female athletes are at an increased risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears compared with their male counterparts. The purpose was to examine the player positions and player movements during basketball games and practices that contribute to ACL tears in WNBA players. Player position and demographics from WNBA players who suffered an ACL tear from 1996 to 2021 were collected from publicly available sources. Entertainment and Sports Programming Network news reports and video analysis were reviewed to determine what movements each player was performing when the injury occurred. Injured players were matched with two noninjured players by age, position, height, and league experience. Performance statistics were collected one season prior to injury and compared with the matched controls. A total of 62 WNBA players with ACL injuries were identified with an average age of 26.7 (±3.9) years. More guards and forward were seen in the injured cohort and more players were injured while driving to the basket (<i>p</i> < 0.05). ACL injuries occurred more commonly during games than in practice (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Compared with controlled match cohort, the players who suffered ACL tears started more games (<i>p</i> = 0.007), had higher minutes played per game (<i>p</i> = 0.003), more field goals per game (<i>p</i> = 0.04), more field goal attempts per game (<i>p</i> = 0.03), more 3-point attempts per game (<i>p</i> = 0.04), more rebounds per game (<i>p</i> = 0.04), more steals per game (<i>p</i> = 0.02), and more points per game (<i>p</i> = 0.02). WNBA guards and forward were more likely to tear their ACL, especially while driving to the basket during real game play. Additionally, players with higher playing times, rebounds, and steals per game had higher rates of ACL tears. However, there was no impact on their performance on season statistics after returning to sport. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.