Biomechanical Determinants and Competitive Anxiety in Basketball Shooting Accuracy across Playing Positions: A Secondary Data Analysis

This secondary data analysis synthesizes biomechanical and psychological data to evaluate how jump height, release kinematics, and competitive anxiety influence shooting accuracy across playing positions. Increased flight time, jump height, and release height emerged as critical indicators of successful attempts, although the correlations between specific kinematic variables and overall shooting accuracy were weak. Elevated competitive anxiety disrupted movement patterns through prefrontal cortical activation and altered kinematic consistency, manifesting as increased peak velocity and limb displacement, degraded gaze fixation, and reduced quiet-eye duration effects associated with significant declines in shooting success under high-pressure conditions. Position-specific analyses revealed distinct adjustments in release timing and ball entry angles for guards and forwards compared with centres. Fatigue further impaired release timing and entry angles in long-range shooting, while distance-dependent oculomotor strategies shorter fixation durations and increased saccadic frequency during three-point attempts compensated for the reduced temporal windows of long-range attempts, which also demanded more precise release angles to manage the variability inherent in higher-velocity release segments. Individual shooting styles emerged as interpretations of standardized movement patterns shaped by unique anthropometric and physical capacities, supporting personalized rather than universal mechanical models. Taken together, the findings indicate that shooting accuracy reflects an interaction of kinematic optimization, oculomotor control, and anxiety regulation that varies by playing position and shooting distance, supporting integrated training programmes that combine technical consistency with psychological resilience.