Lag sequential analysis of offensive efficiency in women’s wheelchair basketball according to player classification

Background This study investigated the efficiency of offensive sequences ending in a shot at the basket performed by the women’s wheelchair basketball gold medal-winning teams at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games (USA; n = 445 sequences) and the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games (Netherlands; n = 482 sequences), considering the influence of players’ functional classification. Methods Using an observational methodology, a diachronic study was conducted. A validated observational instrument incorporating criteria related to players’ functional classification was employed. Data were recorded and coded using LINCE PLUS software, and reliability was assessed through inter-observer agreement using Cohen’s Kappa coefficient. Lag sequential analysis was performed with GSEQ v5.1, using the categories of the Completion dimension as criterion behaviors and those of the Game action, Sequence initiation type, Functional class, Lateralization, and Area dimensions as conditioned behaviors. Results In both championship teams, successful offensive outcomes were associated with possession in areas close to the basket, whereas unsuccessful outcomes were more frequently associated with mid-range and perimeter shooting areas. The findings also demonstrated the influence of players’ functional classification and the spatial organization of possession on the creation of offensive advantages, highlighting how offensive efficiency emerges from the dynamic interaction of functional, spatial and technical-tactical factors. Conclusion Offensive efficiency in elite women’s wheelchair basketball emerges from the interaction between players’ functional classification, spatial organization, and technical-tactical behavior, supporting a transcognitive perspective of performance. These findings provide practical guidance for designing representative training tasks and for optimizing tactical roles according to players’ functional profiles.