Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41036502›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in sports and active living2025

Rethinking the strongest link: VAL, ratings, and team success in Hungarian basketball.

Benedek Ágost Nagy, Botond Ágoston Nagy, Ágoston Nagy, József Gáll, Tamás Sterbenz

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In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in sports and active living, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Benedek Ágost Nagy *School of Doctoral Studies, Hungarian University of Sports Science, Budapest, Hungary.
Botond Ágoston Nagy *School of Doctoral Studies, Hungarian University of Sports Science, Budapest, Hungary.
Ágoston NagyInstitute of Sport Sciences, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
József GállDepartment of Applied Mathematics and Probability Theory, Faculty of Informatics, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Tamás SterbenzSport Economics and Decision Making Research Centre, Hungarian University of Sports Science, Budapest, Hungary.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: This study evaluates the impact of individual player performance-particularly the VAL rating-on team success in professional basketball. It examines whether basketball operates as a "strong-link" sport, where outcomes depend primarily on top-performing players. Methods: A quantitative analysis was conducted on the 2022/2023 Hungarian NB I/A men's league, using 21 offensive and defensive statistical indicators. Data were collected from official league sources and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 28.0. Results: Our findings reveal no significant correlation between individual VAL rankings and team standings. However, offensive and defensive ratings, as well as NET ratings (points scored over opponents per 100 possessions), were strongly associated with team performance, especially among foreign and young players. The VAL metric was more influenced by offensive than defensive performance. Limited playing time and experience may have affected the performance metrics of young players. Discussion: These results suggest that while basketball reflects strong-link sport characteristics, traditional metrics like VAL may not fully capture a player's contribution to team success. A more comprehensive approach-incorporating both offensive and defensive indicators-could offer a clearer evaluation of player impact. Future research should also explore psychological, tactical, and social factors to better understand individual roles in team performance.

Indexed as

competitionefficiencygame analysisperformanceteam sport

Identifiers

PMID41036502
PMCPMC12483447

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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.