Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore the relations i.e. connection between basketball skills and certain cognitive abilities of individual junior players. The research was conducted on a sample of 80 players, the best juniors of Serbia, aged 17 to 18 years. Basketball skills were assessed with 15 tests, which covered most basketball activities: shooting, passing, dribbling, playing without a ball in attack and defense play. Cognitive abilities of junior basketball players were evaluated with fi ve tests: Domino D48 test (test of general intelligence), and four test of cognitive abilities perceptive factor abilities: S1,P1, F1 and F2. Canonical analysis was applied. The canonical analysis results indicate that the two areas are related (canonical correlation coeffi cient R =. 727 i.e. determination coeffi cient R2 = .529), but only the first factor is significant and it carries 53% of the explained variance. The cognitive abilities variables that have the largest projection on the first factor and that contribute most to relation between these two areas are perceptual identification (PF1), perceptual analysis and logical conclusion (PF2) and visual spatialization (PS1), while the variables of basketball skills are: direction change in dribbling (PSD), throwing the ball with two hands technique from chest (BL2RG), drive to the basket for 30 s (PNK30), dynamic shooting for 30 s DS30, reverse movement for 30 s (PK30), dribbling slalom (SD) and precision shooting (PULK).