It would be interesting to see a similar study on motorsport drivers. You would be able to measure athletic performance more accurately because you're measured against a stopwatch. There are also fewer external factors than basketball as drivers simply go around the track as fast as they can without external obstacles (in qualifying rather than racing stages). Unlike basketball, their athletic performance is less influenced by reacting to what the other team is doing.
There are a range of time zones changes and non-changes. From three consecutive races in UTC+2 (Belgium, Netherlands, Italy in F1 this year) to large changes (Australia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia). The sample size can go beyond the 20 F1 drivers by including junior leagues (F2/F3) as well as MotoGP and other tournaments.
Some F1 teams, like McLaren, are already doing some interesting work outside of car performance which could have benefits outside of motorsport.[1] See MindMaze for work in neuroscience.
Separately, it would also be interesting to test non-drivers like pit stop crew and race strategists. Like drivers, their performance (albeit less/not athletic) can be measured against a stopwatch.