Do pre-performance routines have a role in free throws accuracy of basketball players?

A significant portion of research exploring pre-performance routines in sport has focused on the behavioral and temporal characteristics of the routines. This study aimed to investigate the role of behavioral and temporal consistency in those pre-performance routines. The duration and dominant behavioral patterns exhibited before each free throw (N = 1025) were observed during a total of 60 Iranian Super League games. An intra-individual standardized score was calculated for duration of shots as consistency index for temporal pattern of pre-shot routine durations. Each player’s (N = 30) dominant behavioral pre-shot routines and success free throws percentage rate were identified, then each shot was classified as “routines followed” or “routines not followed”. Results revealed that players were more successful when they followed their dominant behavioral routines (64.66% success rate) than when they deviated from their specific behavioral routines (55.17% success rate). There was no significant correlation between the consistency index and free throws success percentage in observed shots. The results suggest that players in Iranian Basketball Super League solely benefit from behavioral patterns of pre-shot routines in implementation of free throws. Moreover it seems that consistency in temporal pattern of shots duration is of less importance in successful shots.