Age and Sex Differences in Shot Distribution and Accuracy in International 3x3 Basketball Tournaments

This study aimed to (a) investigate shot distribution and accuracy in international 3x3 basketball tournaments by classifying shot attempts into three types (two-point, mid-range, and paint shots) and (b) compare them among age and sex categories (senior men, senior women, under-18 men, and under-18 women). Ninety-one games from the FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2019 and the FIBA 3x3 Under-18 World Cup 2019 were analyzed using a notational analysis method. The Mann-Whitney U test with Benjamini-Hochberg correction was used to compare shot attempts and success rates between categories. There were no sex differences in the success rates of two-point and mid-range shots (p<0.05). However, male teams attempted more two-point shots [senior men vs. senior women, p<0.01, r = 0.40 (medium effect size); under-18 men vs. under-18 women, p<0.01, r = 0.21 (small effect size)] and fewer mid-range shots [senior men vs. senior women, p<0.01, r = 0.36 (medium effect size); under-18 men vs. under-18 women, p<0.01, r = 0.34 (medium effect size)] than female teams. Differences between senior and under-18 teams in shot distribution were only observed in men’s tournaments: senior teams attempted more two-point shots [p<0.01, r = 0.25 (small effect size)] and fewer paint shots [p = 0.04, r = 0.19 (small effect size)] than under-18 teams. Male teams were superior to female teams in terms of scoring efficiency. However, the career transition from youth to senior tournaments may be smoother for girls than boys because of the similarity in the shot selection between under-18 and senior games.