Abstract

The peak performance age of Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players is relevant to teams, coaches, agents, the players themselves, as well as other stakeholders to plan careers and negotiate contracts in a unique labor market. Previous research on peak performance in sports has focused on men’s professional sports or individual sport athletes. The objective of this study is to determine the prime age range and specific peak performance age for WNBA players. Data from the 1997 to 2019 WNBA seasons were used to analyze age trends for statistics, such as points per game, offensive and defensive ratings, true shooting percentage, and player impact estimate. A series of mixed-effects regression models were performed and revealed significant linear and quadratic relationships between age and points per game, true shooting percentage, and defensive rating. Overall, it appears that WNBA players tend to perform best between the ages of 23 and 29, with a peak at 28 years of age. Further research, including other women’s professional basketball leagues and analyzing differences in aging trends for different positions, would be a prudent next step to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of peak age in the very global sport of women’s basketball.