The Role of Postural Sway in Free Throw Success: An Analysis in Basketball Players

Free throw shooting is a fundamental skill in basketball that requires precise coordination and balance. Although technical and kinematic factors influencing shooting accuracy have been extensively studied, the potential contribution of postural sway to free throw success remains unclear. The aim of this study is to compare postural sway between successful and unsuccessful free throw shots (b) and to determine the difference between genders in postural sway during successful and unsuccessful shots. Sixty adult basketball players (30 female, 30 male; age=21.2±1.9 years) participated in this study. Postural sway was assessed during five successful and five unsuccessful free throw attempts using the GYKO inertial sensor system. Sway parameters included ellipse area, length, mean distance, and velocity in the total, medio-lateral, and antero-posterior directions. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used with shot outcome (successful vs. unsuccessful) as the within-subject factor and gender (female vs. male) as the between-subject factor. No significant differences were found between successful and unsuccessful free throws in any postural sway parameters. However, male players demonstrated significantly greater values than female players in ellipse area (F=5.043, p=.029, ηp2=.080), mean distance (F=18.15, p<.001, ηp2=.238), medio-lateral mean distance (F=4.21, p=.045, ηp2=.068), and antero-posterior mean distance (F=30.51, p<.001, ηp2=.345). No gender × shot outcome interaction was observed for any parameter. These findings suggest that while postural sway differs between genders, it does not distinguish successful from unsuccessful free throw attempts in adult basketball players. Postural stability may therefore not be a decisive factor in free throw success.