Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39758145›Full record

ArticleOrthopaedic journal of sports medicine2025

Effects of Early Sport Specialization on Injury Load Management and Athletic Success of National Basketball Association Players.

Luke Sang, Katherine Bach, Brian T Feeley, Nirav K Pandya

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Luke SangSchool of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1353-797X
Katherine BachDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
Brian T FeeleyDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
Nirav K PandyaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.

Funding

Skeletal Biology and Biomechanics (SBB) CoreP30AR075055 · NIAMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI Wenhan Chang · 2019 to 2026
$7.1M
NIAMS NIH HHS P30 AR075055
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The effects of early sport specialization on professional athletes' resilience in handling increased workloads and athletic success have not been fully described. Hypothesis: National Basketball Association (NBA) players who were multisport athletes during high school would be able to withstand higher workloads with lower injury rates and have more athletic success compared with their single-sport peers. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Included were first-round NBA draft picks from 2013 to 2023 who had played ≥1 game in their first 3 seasons after being drafted. Athletes who had participated in ≥1 high school sports in addition to basketball were classified as multisport athletes, while those who had only played basketball were classified as single-sport athletes. For each player's first 3 NBA seasons, workload data (number of games played and distance traveled per game/season in meters), injury history, statistical performance (player efficiency rating), and end-of-season award history were collected through the official NBA advanced statistics database and through publicly available records. Results: Overall, 318 athletes were included, of whom 87 (27.4%) were multisport and 231 (72.6%) were single-sport. During their first 3 seasons combined, multisport athletes played in significantly more games (148.9 ± 67.1 vs 125.8 ± 63.8; Conclusion: NBA players who had participated in multiple sports during high school demonstrated an ability to withstand higher workloads while having fewer games missed due to injury when compared with players who had only played basketball. Furthermore, athletes who delayed sport specialization had greater statistical and award success in their professional careers than those who focused on early single-sport specialization.

Indexed as

basketballinjury preventionpediatric sports medicinesport specialization

Identifiers

PMID39758145
PMCPMC11700406

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.