Introduction: In basketball, ball possession can begin and end in many different ways, for example, ball possession may begin with an out-of-bounds, a stolen ball, a rebound etc, and may also end with a throw, a turnover or when the attack time has expired.
Aim: Starting from the working hypothesis that the backboard rebounds represent an important factor in gaining ball possession, we have proposed to identify and analyze the game parameters recorded in the national basketball leagues.
Material and methods: The theoretical documentation included explaining, based on specialized literature, terms related to ball possession. Also, in order to accomplish the purposes of this research, we have used statistical analysis (possession, arithmetic mean, amplitude) and graphical representation. This study focused on all teams participating in the 2019-2020 season of the National Basketball Leagues (16 men’s and 13 women’s teams).
Results: Following the analysis and centralization of the game parameters from the 146 games played in the men’s league and 144 games in the women’s league, we have identified the main ways of gaining ball possession.
Conclusions: Backboard rebounds represent the main way of gaining ball possession (which confirms the hypothesis).
