Exploratory characterization of joint angular-velocity patterns during basketball jump shots across distances using OpenCap and multivariate functional principal component analysis
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Updated: Oct 31, 2026

An Inertial Measurement Unit Based Method to Estimate Hip and Knee Joint Kinematics in Team Sport Athletes on the Field
Published on: May 26, 2020
Ziyang Feng1, Zhonghao Xie2, Zhiguan Huang2,3
1School of Athletic Training, Guangzhou Sport University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Background:
Distance-related changes in basketball jump shooting have commonly been examined using discrete kinematic variables, whereas less is known about how multi-joint angular-velocity waveforms vary across shooting distances. This exploratory study aimed to characterize joint angular-velocity waveform patterns across basketball jump-shot distances using OpenCap and multivariate functional principal component analysis.
Methods:
Fourteen male university basketball players performed successful jump shots from 4.6, 5.8, 7.0, and 8.3 m, with movement recorded using OpenCap at 60 Hz. Sagittal-plane angular-velocity waveforms were extracted for the bilateral hip, knee, and ankle joints and for the shooting-side shoulder and elbow. Waveforms were segmented into COM-defined Loading and Jump Phases. Phase-specific multivariate functional principal component analysis was used to summarize dominant waveform patterns, and linear mixed-effects models were used to explore linear distance trends in component scores.
Results:
No clear linear distance trends were observed in the Loading Phase. In the Jump Phase, three component scores showed linear distance-related trends. Waveform reconstructions suggested greater lower-limb extension angular-velocity amplitudes and shoulder-elbow amplitude modulation at longer shooting distances within the COM-normalized phase.
Conclusions:
These exploratory findings suggest that distance-related changes in multi-joint angular-velocity waveforms during successful basketball jump shots may be more evident during the center-of-mass-defined Jump Phase than during the Loading Phase. At longer shooting distances, waveform reconstructions suggested greater lower-limb extension angular-velocity amplitudes and shooting-side shoulder-elbow amplitude modulation, with relative within-phase feature-location shifts. These results provide a preliminary waveform-level basis for future confirmatory studies on distance-related shooting technique changes.
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