Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Athletic performance and career longevity following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in the National Basketball Association

  • Knee
  • Published:
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy Aims and scope

Abstract

Purpose

To identify the impact of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction on performance and career longevity for National Basketball Association (NBA) players.

Methods

Seventy-nine players (80 knees) with acute ACL tears in the NBA between the 1984–2014 seasons, and 112 age, height, weight, and performance-matched controls were identified. Pre- and post-injury performance outcomes including seasons played, games played, games started, minutes per game, points per game, field goals, 3-point shots, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, turnovers, personal fouls, usage percentage and player efficiency ratings were compared between cases and controls using independent samples t tests and Fisher’s exact tests.

Results

Sixty-eight of seventy-nine players (86.1 %) returned to play in the NBA following ACL reconstruction. Mean length of post-operative play was 1.84 years shorter than matched controls (P = 0.001). There was a significantly higher rate of attrition from professional basketball for players with a history of ACL reconstruction (P = 0.014). In the first full season following surgery, players started in 15.5 fewer games (P = 0.001), they played in 17.3 fewer games (P < 0.001), and had combined player efficiency ratings 2.35 points lower (P = 0.001) when compared to matched controls. Over the length of their careers, players competed in 22.2 fewer games per season (P = 0.009).

Conclusions

There is a high rate of return to sport in the NBA following ACL reconstruction, although playing time, games played, player efficiency ratings and career lengths are significantly impacted in the post-operative period. These data should be used to manage patients’ expectations regarding their abilities to return to elite levels of athletic performance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Amin NH, Old AB, Tabb LP, Garg R, Toossi N, Cerynik DL (2013) Performance outcomes after repair of complete achilles tendon ruptures in national basketball association players. Am J Sports Med 41(8):1864–1868

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Anakwenze OA, Namdari S, Auerbach JD, Baldwin K, Weidner ZD, Lonner BS, Huffman GR, Sennett BJ (2010) Athletic performance outcomes following lumbar discectomy in professional basketball players. Spine 35(7):825–828

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Bradley JP, Klimkiewicz JJ, Rytel MJ, Powell JW (2002) Anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the National Football League: epidemiology and current treatment trends among team physicians. Arthroscopy 18(5):502–509

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Brophy RH, Gill CS, Lyman S, Barnes RP, Rodeo SA, Warren RF (2009) Effect of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and meniscectomy on length of career in National Football League athletes: a case control study. Am J Sports Med 37(11):2102–2107

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Busfield BT, Kharrazi FD, Starkey C, Lombardo SJ, Seegmiller J (2009) Performance outcomes of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in the National Basketball Association. Arthroscopy 25(8):825–830

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Carey JL, Huffman GR, Parekh SG, Sennett BJ (2006) Outcomes of anterior cruciate ligament injuries to running backs and wide receivers in the National Football League. Am J Sports Med 34(12):1911–1917

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Cerynik DL, Lewullis GE, Joves BC, Palmer MP, Tom JA (2009) Outcomes of microfracture in professional basketball players. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 17(9):1135–1139

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. DeHaven KE, Lintner DM (1986) Athletic injuries: comparison by age, sport, and gender. Am J Sports Med 14(3):218–224

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Fabricant PD, Chin CS, Conte S, Coleman SH, Pearle AD, Dines JS (2015) Return to play after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in Major League Baseball athletes. Arthroscopy 31(5):896–900

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Granan LP, Inacio MC, Maletis GB, Funahashi TT, Engebretsen L (2013) Sport-specific injury pattern recorded during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Am J Sports Med 41(12):2814–2818

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Harris JD, Erickson BJ, Bach BR Jr, Abrams GD, Cvetanovich GL, Forsythe B, McCormick FM, Gupta AK, Cole BJ (2013) Return-to-sport and performance after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in National Basketball Association players. Sports Health 5(6):562–568

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Joseph AM, Collins CL, Henke NM, Yard EE, Fields SK, Comstock RD (2013) A multisport epidemiologic comparison of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in high school athletics. J Athl Train 48(6):810–817

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Namdari S, Baldwin K, Anakwenze O, Park MJ, Huffman GR, Sennett BJ (2009) Results and performance after microfracture in National Basketball Association athletes. Am J Sports Med 37(5):943–948

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Namdari S, Scott K, Milby A, Baldwin K, Lee GC (2011) Athletic performance after ACL reconstruction in the Women’s National Basketball Association. Phys Sportsmed 39(1):36–41

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Schroeder GD, McCarthy KJ, Micev AJ, Terry MA, Hsu WK (2013) Performance-based outcomes after nonoperative treatment, discectomy, and/or fusion for a lumbar disc herniation in National Hockey League athletes. Am J Sports Med 41(11):2604–2608

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Shah VM, Andrews JR, Fleisig GS, McMichael CS, Lemak LJ (2010) Return to play after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in National Football League athletes. Am J Sports Med 38(11):2233–2239

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Weistroffer JK, Hsu WK (2011) Return-to-play rates in National Football League linemen after treatment for lumbar disk herniation. Am J Sports Med 39(3):632–636

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Zaffagnini S, Grassi A, Marcheggiani Muccioli GM, Tsapralis K, Ricci M, Bragonzoni L, Della Villa S, Marcacci M (2014) Return to sport after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in professional soccer players. Knee 21(3):731–735

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York University Langone Medical Center, 301 E 17th St, New York, NY, 10003, USA

    Benjamin S. Kester, Omar A. Behery & Shobhit V. Minhas

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Benjamin S. Kester, Shobhit V. Minhas & Wellington K. Hsu

Authors
  1. Benjamin S. Kester
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Omar A. Behery
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shobhit V. Minhas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Wellington K. Hsu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Benjamin S. Kester.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Performance variables comprised: seasons played following presentation/surgery seasons until retirement, games played (GP), games started (GS), player efficiency rating (PER) (defined as per minute production), minutes per game (MPG), points, field goals (FG), field goal attempts (FGA), 3 pointers (3P), 3 pointer attempts (3PA), free throws (FT), free throw attempts (FTA), rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, turnovers, and personal fouls (PF) per 36 min, FG percentage, 3P percentage (if a player’s pre presentation/surgery season contained ≥1.0 3PA per 36 min) and usage percentage (defined as an estimate of percentage of team plays player is involved in).

Appendix 2

See Table 3.

Table 3 Pre-ACL reconstruction in cases versus pre-index year in controls
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kester, B.S., Behery, O.A., Minhas, S.V. et al. Athletic performance and career longevity following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in the National Basketball Association. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 25, 3031–3037 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-016-4060-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-016-4060-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation