The Relationship Between External Load and Player Performance in Elite Female 3 × 3 Basketball Games: A Markerless Motion Capture Approach

<b>Background</b>: This study employed a markerless motion capture system to quantify the external game load of elite 3 × 3 basketball players and evaluated its association with game performance. <b>Methods</b>: Twenty-four female 3 × 3 basketball games from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games were analyzed, involving 32 players from eight national teams. A markerless motion capture system was used to collect six categories of external load metrics during games, and 22 types of technical statistics were gathered to determine performance. Collected data were standardized according to live game time (min^-1). Repeated-measures correlation analysis was applied to examine the relationships between external load and performance, while mixed-effects models were used to compare external load differences between better- and worse-performing groups (classified by Player Value). <b>Results</b>: The correlations between external load and performance indicators were trivial to small. Accelerations (ACC) were significantly associated with the greatest number of performance indicators (e.g., points, rebounds, 1-point made, key assists), while rebounds were significantly correlated with the largest number of external load metrics (e.g., total distance, low-intensity active distance, high-intensity active distance); however, all correlations remained at the small level (r = 0.16-0.24). No significant differences in external load were observed between players of differing performance groups (<i>p</i> > 0.05). <b>Conclusions</b>: In elite 3 × 3 basketball, external load reflects players' involvement and effort rather than serving as a primary determinant of game performance. This study provides new empirical evidence on the characteristics of 3 × 3 basketball, suggesting that coaches and strength and conditioning practitioners should adopt a comprehensive perspective when evaluating performance, with external load being more suitable for training regulation and fatigue monitoring.