Nihar Mehta

How does NBA player performance change before/after achilles injuries

Started May 1, 2024

Abstract or project description

There have been 47 NBA players who have ruptured/torn their achilles [1]. Often thought to be a career limiting, and sometimes career ending, injury, most NBA players that have returned after their injuries have not reached their pre-injury performance level as defined by key NBA metrics used to define player performance, effectiveness, and efficiency. The purpose of this study is to analyze the performance statistics of NBA players before and after the Achilles injury, using a dataset of 26 players known to have suffered achilles injury with publically available statistics to measure game performance. Data was collected using online sources and a database was built in excel, with players sorted by a number of categories: position (frontcourt, backcourt), decade of injury, time of injury (before/after 2010, before/after 2015) and the Mann-Whitney test was used to evaluate trends in these groups for statistical significance at the 1% and 5% confidence levels. For the metrics pre and post 2010, SPG (steals per game) was found significant at a fifth percent confidence level. Additionally, for the time frame pre and post 2015, the metrics PER (player efficiency rating), BPG (blocks per game), and Offensive rating was found significant at the fifth percent confidence level. The other research paper had found decline in the metrics MPG(Minutes Per Game) and PER(Player Efficiency Rating) and did not find much difference in performance after 3 years. However while this paper did not strongly conclude/show advancements in player performance post achilles injury, medical advancements in the field such as regenerative medicine suggest that as time goes on, the achilles tear will lose its place amongst professional sport career-ending injuries.