Running is beyond marathoners. A myriad of sports requires the athletes to run during the match session. The same is even true with the NBA (National Basketball Association) players. From alley-oop to bouncing and passing the ball throughout the basketball court, one of the fittest athletes on the planet is sweating out enough on the court for their share of running huge miles.
Did you know the running miles of over 20 percent of the NBA players last year was equal to five marathons? It means the basketball players ran at least 130 miles during the whole season. But there is much more.
What’s the average distance an NBA player runs in a game?
According to data collected by STATS LLC, a professional basketball player runs around 2.55 miles on average during 48 minutes of the gaming session. However, there is no limit to how much a basketball player should run on a standard 94 by 50 feet long court, as some can even run several marathons until the season ends. Besides, the average running miles calculated per game for a team of five players is about 12.75 miles.
Let’s understand the process applied by the NBA to precisely calculate the average running miles and speed of its basketball players.
How does the NBA measure speed?
From the 2013-14 season, the NBA started leveraging a player-tracking technology provided by their official optical tracking provider – “Second Spectrum.” This state-of-the-art system functions using computer vision and Machine Learning technology to get an insight into an average distance run in NBA game.
The advanced tracker gathers comprehensive data into the proprietary software via several cameras installed in the catwalks all across the arena. Further, the software converts the captured images and data into algorithms to identify and extract positional data for every player on the court and the ball 25 times per second. This data covers average speed, distance travelled, and the number of touches by the basketball players.
The NBA regularly updates the player’s tracking data on its official site based on the current matches and season. Since this data is easily accessible anytime, both referees and statisticians can assess players’ performance in real-time. Also, coaches can use this report for training the players to perform better in the next matches.
What’s more? The data-driven performance metrics of NBA players can even help bettors wager carefully. It means now you can improve your winning odds at top NBA betting sites.
Eager to know the players who topped the list of the most run distance in the NBA season? Let’s find out how many miles do basketball players run in a game, as per the recent tracking report.
8 NBA Players Running Most Miles Per Game
Well, with running, we don’t mean how many miles do basketball players run in practice to stay fit and match-ready. It is about an actual running distance covered during the basketball sessions.
170 players ran around 100 miles in the 2021-22 NBA season, to your surprise. On the other hand, 146 players covered at least 2.0 miles in one game.
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Time to delve into the list of top eight NBA players running equivalent to professional runners during the current season.
- Fred VanVleet (Average Speed: 4.22 MPH) – Like last season, Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors once again leads the list of the highest distance run in one game. This time he averaged the league-high with 2.9 miles per game that increased from an average of 2.76 miles last year.
- Harrison Barnes (Average Speed: 4.41 MPH) – An NBA player from the Sacramento Kings team secured the second spot with 2.85 miles per game.
- Tyrese Maxey (Average Speed: 4.44 MPH) – On the third position is Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team, who also ran an average of 2.85 miles per game this year.
- Miles Bridges (Average Speed: 4.28 MPH) – Miles Bridges for the Charlotte Hornets got the fourth position with an average of 2.81 miles per basketball gaming session.
- Scottie Barnes (Average Speed: 4.39 MPH) – One more professional basketball player from the Toronto Raptors NBA team who achieved 2.78 running miles during the 2021 season.
- Dejounte Murray (Average Speed: 4.48 MPH) – San Antonio Spurs’s Dejounte Murray ran 2.76 miles on an average in one basketball game, while his total miles for the season are 41.5.
- Gordon Hayward (Average Speed: 4.28 MPH) – The next highest running athlete of the Charlotte Hornets NBA team, covering 2.72 miles of run per basketball match.
- OG Anunoby (Average Speed: 4.05 MPH)- Toronto Raptors did it again with their team player recording 2.69 miles running distance per game and average total miles of 40.4 throughout the season.
NBA players who also achieved the long-running distance this year include Malcolm Brogdon, Cole Anthony, Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball, Jaylen Brown, and Bradley Beal with an average of 2.68, 2.67, 2.67, 2.65, 2.65, 2.64 miles, respectively.
Also, you will like to check out the fastest average of top professional basketball players for this year.
- Svi Mykhailiuk: 4.69 MPH
- Doug McDermott: 4.68 MPH
- Gary Payton II: 4.66 MPH
- T.J. McConnell: 4.66 MPH
- Dalano Banton: 4.61 MPH
- Caleb Martin: 4.57 MPH
- Cody Martin: 4.57 MPH
- Jordan McLaughlin: 4.57 MPH
- Cory Joseph: 4.56 MPH
- Jaden McDaniels: 4.56 MPH
- Nick Richards: 4.55 MPH
- Tomas Satoransky: 4.55 MPH
- Jalen McDaniels: 4.55 MPH
- Dejounte Murray: 4.55 MPH
- Ish Smith: 4.52 MPH
Wrapping It Up
Well, basketball is a game of speed. Seeing the average NBA distance traveled per game by the NBA players on the basketball court, you can say these professionals won’t even have a hard time running on the marathon circuits.
Moreover, the new-age automated technology enables the NBA to smoothly calculate the pace and distance traveled by their basketball players. Thus, SBS believes today it is also feasible for novice and veteran bettors to analyze players’ performance before gambling on any team. In a nutshell, sports betting has become a less risky affair for you.
Author Bio:
Sarah has been instrumental in writing about sports betting and gaming for over a decade now! Her keen eye for detail, together with her penchant for research, assures the audience gets a 360-degree colossal view on any topic! You can read more of her work at Safest Betting Sites.
