Exercise Science Corner – Comparison of vertical jump and sprint performances between 3× 3 and 5× 5 elite professional male basketball players

KANSAS, USA – April 9th, 2025 — (Quincy Johnson Fitness LLC, PRNewswire, SEND2PRESS) —

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Given its fast-growing popularity and unique on-court competitive demands, 3 × 3 basketball has captured a considerable amount of attention over recent years. However, unlike research focused on studying 5 × 5 basketball players, there is a lack of scientific literature focused on examining countermovement vertical jump (CMJ) and sprint performance characteristics of 3 × 3 athletes.

Purpose

Thus, the purpose of the present study was to compare force-time metrics during both eccentric and concentric phases of the CMJ and acceleration and deceleration capabilities between 3 × 3 and 5 × 5 top-tier professional male basketball athletes.

Methods

Ten 3 × 3 and eleven 5 × 5 professional basketball players volunteered to participate in the present study. Upon completion of a standardized warm-up, each athlete performed three maximum-effort CMJs, followed by two 10 m sprints. A uni-axial force plate system sampling at 1,000 Hz was used to analyze CMJ force-time metrics and a radar gun sampling at 47 Hz was used to derive sprint acceleration-deceleration measures. Independent t-tests and Hedge’s g were used to examine between-group statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) and effect size magnitudes.

Results

The findings of the present study reveal that 3 × 3 and 5 × 5 professional male basketball players tend to display similar neuromuscular performance characteristics as no significant differences were observed in any force-time metric during both eccentric and concentric phases of the CMJ (g = 0.061–0.468). Yet, prominent differences were found in multiple measures of sprint performance, with large effect size magnitudes (g = 1.221–1.881). Specifically, 5 × 5 basketball players displayed greater average and maximal deceleration and faster time-to-stop than their 3 × 3 counterparts.

Conclusions

Overall, these findings provide reference values that sports practitioners can use when assessing athletes’ CMJ and sprint performance capabilities as well as when developing sport-specific training regimens to mimic on-court competitive demands.