Training to Compete: Are Basketball Training Loads Similar to Competition Achieved?

Basketball players should train at intensities similar to those recorded in competition, but are the intensities really similar? This study aimed to quantify and compare the internal and external intensities assimilated by professional basketball players, both in training and in competition, according to context and the specific player position. Players from the same team in the Spanish ACB competition were monitored for three weeks. The sample recorded intensities in 5 vs. 5 game situations in both training (n = 221) and competition (n = 32). The intensities, as dependent variables, were classified into kinematic external workload demands (distances, high-intensity displacements, accelerations, decelerations, the acceleration:deceleration ratio, jumps, and landings), neuromuscular external workload demands (impacts and player load), and internal workload demands (heart rate). They were measured using inertial measurement devices and pulsometers. The playing positions, as independent variables, were grouped into guard, forward, and center. According to the context, the results reported a significant mismatch of all training intensities, except jumps, with respect to competition; these intensities were lower in training. According to the playing position, inside players recorded more jumps and landings per minute than point guards and outside players in training. In turn, inside players recorded a higher average heart rate per minute than outside players in this same context. There were no significant differences in intensity according to the playing position in the competition. Considering the context–position interaction, no differences were observed in the intensities. Adjusting and optimizing training intensities to those recorded in competition is necessary.