Abstract
Introduction
Elite athletes are often required to travel for National and International competitions. However, the direction (westwards or eastwards), time zones crossed, and recovery days relative to their opponents may influence team success. The aim of this study was to determine whether differences in jetlag-induced circadian misalignment and number of recovery days between National Basketball Association (NBA) teams influenced the subsequent game result.
Methods
A total of 11,598 games from the 2011/2012 to the 2020/2021 seasons were analysed using mixed models with two fixed effects (travel, recovery) and three random effects (team, opponent, game time). Mediation modelling was also performed to determine if any influence of the fixed effects were mediated by another variable. The data is presented from the home team’s perspective.
Results
Teams with more recovery days between games, won by larger margins (F = 5.0, p < 0.001). Compared to one fewer recovery day (1.45 ± 13.92), one more recovery day (3.53 ± 13.51) advantaged the home team by 2.08 points (d = 0.15). The effect of travel on greater home team margins was completely mediated via recovery day differences (95% CI -0.11 to -0.03, p = 0.002).
Discussion
Using 10 seasons of data, our findings show that regardless of travel, recovery days between games significantly impact game margins. An advantage in recovery days should be considered for teams who travel more time zones westwards relative to their opponent. This suggests inequalities of the NBA schedule may be minimised for future seasons.