Contents
Basketball is a sport enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels. To understand the game well, it is essential to know the basic terms used in basketball. This beginner’s guide will teach you the most important terms with examples so that you can get started playing basketball.
Basketball Terms
- Airball
- Alley-oop
- Assist
- Back Court
- Back Door Cut
- Back Screen
- Backboard
- Ball Fake
- Bang the Boards
- Bank Shot
- Baseline
- Baseline Pass
- Basket
- Block
- Blocked Shot
- Blocking
- Bounce
- Bounce pass
- Box Out
- Brick
- Carrying the Ball
- Catch and Face
- Center
- Charging
- Chest Pass
- Chin it
- Clear Out
- Coach
- Control Dribble
- Conversion
- Court
- Cross-Screen
- Crossover Dribble
- Crossover Step
- Curl Cut
- Cut
- Cylinder
- Dead Ball
- Defense
- Defense Rebound
- Double Dribble
- Double Team
- Down Court
- Down Screen
- Draft
- Dribble
- Drive
- Dunk
- Elbow
- End Lines
- Exceed
- Fake
- Fast Break
- Field Goal
- Fishhook Cut
- Flagrant Foul
- Floor
- Floor Violation
- Forwards
- Foul
- Foul Line
- Foul shot
- Foul Trouble
- Free throw
- Front Court
- Full-court Press
- Game clock
- Goal-tending
- Guard
- Guarding
- Half Court Press
- Half-court line
- Hand Check
- Hash Mark
- Held Ball
- Help Side
- High Post
- Holding
- Hook Shot
- Hoop
- In the Paint
- Inbounds Pass
- Incidental Contact
- Inside Cut
- Inside Shot
- Intentional Foul
- Jab Step
- Jersey
- Jump Ball
- Jump Shot
- Jump Stop
- Key
- Lane
- Lane Violation
- Lay-up
- Live Ball
- Loading the Gun
- Low Post
- Mid-court Line
- MVP (Most Valuable Player)
- Net
- No-look pass
- Off the Dribble
- Offense
- Offensive Rebound
- One-and-one
- Open
- Open man
- Outlet Pass
- Out-of-Bounds
- Overhead pass
- Overtime
- Paint
- Palming
- Pass
- Perimeter
- Period
- Personal Foul
- Pick
- Pivot
- Players
- Point Guard
- Possession
- Post
- Post Up
- Power Forward
- Power Layup Shot
- Press
- Pull-back Dribble
- Push Pass
- Pushing foul
- Quadruple Double
- Rebound
- Referee
- Reverse Dribble
- Reverse Pivot
- Rim
- Rocker Step
- Score
- Screen
- Set shot
- Shoes
- Shoot
- Shooter
- Shooting form
- Shooting Guard
- Shot
- Shot Clock
- Sidelines
- Slam dunk
- Small Forward
- Snatch
- Spacing
- Squaring Up
- Starting Lineup
- Strategy
- Stride Stop
- Strong Side
- Substitute
- Swing-man
- Swish
- Team
- Team Fouls
- Technical Foul
- Ten-second Lane
- The Paint
- Three-point line
- Timeout
- Tip-Off
- Top-of-the-key
- Transition
- Trap
- Traveling
- Triple-Double
- Turnover
- Uniform
- Up-court
- Violation
- Walking
- Weak Side
- Zone defense
Basketball Terms with Meanings and Examples
Airball: A shot that misses the basket, backboard, and rim entirely.
- Example: “That three-pointer was an airball.”
Alley-oop: A play where one player throws the ball near the basket and another player catches it in mid-air to dunk or lay-up.
- Example: “The point guard threw an alley-oop, and the center slammed it in.”
Assist: A pass that leads directly to a basket.
- Example: “The point guard had 10 assists in the game.”
Back Court: The half of the court that a team defends.
- Example: “The team is struggling to bring the ball up from the back court.”
Back Door Cut: A move where a player cuts behind the defender toward the basket to receive a pass.
- Example: “The shooting guard made a back door cut for an easy lay-up.”
Back Screen: A screen set behind a defender to free up a teammate for a cut toward the basket.
- Example: “The power forward set a back screen to free the shooting guard.”
Backboard: The rectangular surface behind the basket that helps shots bounce into the hoop.
- Example: “She banked the ball off the backboard for a two-pointer.”
Ball Fake: A deceptive move to trick a defender into thinking a pass or shot is about to be made.
- Example: “He used a ball fake to get the defender in the air before driving to the hoop.”
Bang the Boards: To aggressively go for a rebound.
- Example: “The center was banging the boards all night, grabbing 15 rebounds.”
Bank Shot: A shot that bounces off the backboard into the basket.
- Example: “He made a bank shot from the corner.”
Baseline: The line that marks the end of the court under each basket.
- Example: “The player stepped out of bounds on the baseline.”
Baseline Pass: A pass made along the baseline.
- Example: “He drove along the baseline and made a baseline pass to the open shooter.”
Basket: The hoop and net through which the ball must pass to score points.
- Example: “He scored by driving hard to the basket.”
Block: To deflect or stop a shot attempt.
- Example: “The forward made a great block to stop the lay-up.”
Blocked Shot: A shot attempt that is deflected or stopped by a defender.
- Example: “The defender had three blocked shots in the first half.”
Blocking: A defensive foul that occurs when a defender illegally impedes the progress of an offensive player.
- Example: “The referee called a blocking foul on the center.”
Bounce Pass: A pass that bounces on the floor before reaching a teammate.
- Example: “He executed a perfect bounce pass to avoid the defender.”
Box Out: A technique used to position oneself between an opponent and the basket to secure a rebound.
- Example: “The coach emphasized the importance of boxing out after every shot.”
Brick: A poorly shot ball that bounces off the rim or backboard without going in.
- Example: “That three-point attempt was a total brick.”
Carrying the Ball: A violation where the player palms the ball or holds it excessively while dribbling.
- Example: “He was called for carrying the ball during the crossover.”
Catch and Face: Receiving a pass and immediately turning to face the basket.
- Example: “The player practiced catch and face to be ready for a shot.”
Center: The tallest player, usually positioned near the basket, responsible for rebounds and shot blocking.
- Example: “The center dominated the paint with his height and strength.”
Charging: An offensive foul committed when a player with the ball runs into a stationary defender.
- Example: “He was called for charging after plowing into the defender.”
Chest Pass: A two-handed pass thrown from the chest in a straight line to the receiver’s chest.
- Example: “He made a quick chest pass to his teammate.”
Chin it: To hold the ball close to the chin after a rebound to protect it from defenders.
- Example: “After grabbing the rebound, he chinned it to secure the ball.”
Clear Out: When offensive players move away from the ball handler to create isolation.
- Example: “The coach called for a clear out to isolate the star player.”
Control Dribble: A low, controlled dribble used to protect the ball from defenders.
- Example: “He used a control dribble to maneuver through traffic.”
Conversion: Successfully scoring a basket or completing a play.
- Example: “The player made a conversion on the fast break.”
Court: The playing area for a basketball game.
- Example: “The team stepped onto the court for the game.”
Crossover Dribble: A dribbling move where the ball is quickly switched from one hand to the other.
- Example: “He used a crossover dribble to get past the defender.”
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