Basketball Terms That Hoopers of All Levels Should Know

The game of basketball has a large and diverse array of lingo on all aspects of the sport. Key basketball slang terms include:

1. 1. Airball: An airball is an attempted field goal that does not touch any aspect of the basketball goal, including the metal rim, attached net on the basket, and backboard. If a defensive player blocks the shot, referees will call it a block, not an airball.
2. 2. Alley-oop: An alley-oop is an offensive play that involves two basketball players. The player possessing the ball will throw it to a teammate near the net to perform an alley-oop. The teammate jumps, catches the ball in mid-air and slams it into the basket before touching the ground. The term comes from “allez hop,” or “off you go,” a French acrobatic term for alerting others about a performer’s coming leap.
3. 3. Backdoor: Backdoor is an offensive strategy where an offensive player moves behind an opposing player’s back. A backdoor cut is when a player moves behind their opponent’s back and makes a break (runs) for the basket. It’s an effective play against defensive strategies like man-to-man defense and zone defense, which involve defensive players covering specific offensive players or areas of the court.
4. 4. Ball handler: The ball handler is the offensive player with possession of the ball during a play. Though the point guard is typically the ball handler for most plays, any player can be the ball handler during the basketball game. Learn about key basketball positions.
5. 5. Bank shot: A bank shot occurs when an offensive player attempts to make a field goal with a jump shot, and the ball bounces off the backboard and goes into the basket without hitting the rim. It’s also known as “going off the glass.”
6. 6. Bounce pass: A bounce pass involves the ball handler passing the ball to a teammate by bouncing it off the court. A bounce pass only bounces once, and members of the opposing team can’t touch it.
7. 7. Box out: Both offensive and defensive players can box out members of the opposing team to give them a greater chance for a rebound. In a box out, a defensive player moves in front of their opponent and faces the net with a wide stance and raised arms to prevent them from gaining access to the ball. When the ball re-enters play, the player jumps to retrieve the rebound.
8. 8. Buzzer-beater: A buzzer-beater is a field goal that leaves the player’s hands right before the game clock or shot clock (the “buzzer”) sounds to end a period in the game—whether the end of a quarter or overtime—and enters the basket after the buzzer. Most professional basketball leagues, including the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), review an instant replay video to determine if the shot occurred before the buzzer.
9. 9. Charity stripe: The charity stripe is basketball slang for the free-throw line, where players make unobstructed, free-throw shots. It’s also known as the foul line.
10. 10. Chest pass: This basic but powerful pass involves the ball handler throwing the ball to a teammate using a two-handed pass that begins at their chest. A chest pass may not touch the ground.
11. 11. Double-double: A basketball player achieves a double-double by scoring ten or more points in two of the five main strategic categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, or blocked shots. The term “double-double” refers to the two categories and the double-digit points scored in those categories. A triple-double is ten or more points in three categories, while quadruple-double and quintuple-double refer to ten or more points in four or all categories, respectively.
12. 12. Double team: A double team is a defensive strategy involving two defensive players guarding a single offensive opponent. In a double team, one defensive player tries to block the opponent’s shot while the other can knock the ball out of their hands.
13. 13. Dribble: A dribble is one of the primary ways a player can move the ball up the basketball court. A player dribbles by bouncing the ball on the court in a continuous motion. Once the player stops dribbling, they cannot start again unless they pass the ball and their teammate passes it back to them. If they start again, the dribbler receives a double dribble violation and loses possession of the ball, which goes to the opposing team at the sideline, or side of the court, nearest to the violation.
14. 14. Dropping dimes: This term refers to making an assist, which is a pass that leads to a field goal. A player may drop a dime with an easy pass or a challenging play, as long as it leads to a basket.
15. 15. Dunk: A dunk, or slam dunk, is an offensive shot attempt in which a player scores a two-point field goal by jumping into the air and slamming the ball into the net while touching the rim of the basket with one or two hands. “Slam dunk” is one of the few basketball terms to enter everyday speech, typically referring to an easy accomplishment.
16. 16. Fast break: A fast break is a transition where the offensive team quickly drives the ball to the basket after receiving possession. Fast breaks commonly occur after defensive play—like a block, or an error, like a missed shot—which creates the opportunity. Once the offense gains possession of the ball, they pass it to their fastest player, who runs it up the court with two other players on either side. The speed of a fast break usually prevents the opposing team from setting up an effective defense.
17. 17. Free throw: A free throw, or foul shot, is an unguarded scoring attempt that a referee awards a basketball player after a player on the opposing team commits a personal or technical foul against them, their team, or an official. Free throws provide a basketball team with the opportunity to score points outside of the shot clock during a game.
18. 18. Full-court press: A full-court press is a defensive strategy that finds the defense aggressively guarding the offense for the entire length of the basketball court after a field goal. The defense applies a full-court press immediately after the ball goes inbounds after a shot attempt and does not wait for the offense to cross the half-court line. The goal of a full-court press is to force a turnover in which the opposing team loses possession of the ball.
19. 19. Goaltending: Goaltending refers to interfering with a ball while it’s on a downward trajectory to the basket and above the basketball rim. If a defensive player commits a goaltending violation, the opposing team gets two or three points—depending on whether the shot happened inside or outside the three-point line—and a free throw. If an offensive player earns a goaltending violation, their team loses possession of the ball, and if the ball makes a field goal, they earn no points.
20. 20. Granny shot: A granny shot, or underhanded shot, is a shooting style in which the player holds the ball in two hands with arms extended in front of their body. The shooter bends and raises their knees while bringing the ball down their legs and releases it on the upswing. Most players avoid granny shots because of their negative connotations, but NBA player Rick Barry held a lifetime free-throw percentage of ninety percent using granny shots.
21. 21. Help side: Also known as the weak side, this area of the court is away from the basketball and the ball handler. Defensive players on the weak side provide help-side defense by moving away from their assigned opposing player or zone to prevent a clear path to the basket by the ball handler. They must then return immediately to their defense assignment.
22. 22. High post: The high post is the area at the top of the key or the marked and painted area around the basketball net. The high post is at both ends of the free-throw line, while the area closer to the rim is the low post. Picks, or screens, which create a situation for the ball handler to score or assist in a field goal, are typically set at the high post.
23. 23. Hook shot: This one-handed shot requires the player to stand close to the hoop and swing their arm in a curved motion to send the ball toward the hoop and score a field goal. In a jump hook, the ball handler stands with their back to the basket and then turns on their pivot foot to jump while flicking the ball into the net. Popularized by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the skyhook has the player pivot and turn with their shoulder to the basket, jumping on one foot and hooking their arm over their head to score the field goal.
24. 24. Inbounds: Inbounds is the area within the sidelines and baselines, or end lines, which frame the frontcourt and backcourt, or the two halves of a basketball court that contain the nets for each time. A player or ball that crosses those lines is out of bounds, and play stops; whichever team last touched the ball loses possession, and the other team must throw the ball inbounds to resume play.
25. 25. Layup: A layup is a basic shot attempt by a player within a short range of the basket. The ball handle dribbles the ball as they approach the basket and raise it with one hand to bounce it off the backboard and into the net. Once they stop dribbling to aim, they can only take two steps or receive a violation for traveling.
26. 26. Outlet pass: An outlet pass is one of the fastest ways a team can transition from defense to offense. When a player grabs a defensive rebound after a shot, they can pass it to another player to initiate a fast break. Typically, they will look for a player standing near the half-court line.
27. 27. Palming: Palming is a violation involving the ball handler placing their hand under the ball while dribbling or stopping and then restarting dribbling. Palming often occurs by accident during a crossover dribble when a player bounces the ball from one hand to another.
28. 28. Passing lane: A passing lane is a space between two players in which the ball will travel when one passes it to the other. Players must create a passing lane that keeps the ball out of the hands of the opposing team.
29. 29. Pick and roll: Pick and roll is an offensive strategy involving the ball handler and another player, like a power forward. The second player, or screener, sets the pick by blocking an opposing player while the ball handler moves towards the pick and then rolls or pivots toward the basket. The screener then also rolls off the defender and looks for a pass from the ball handler to make a field goal.
30. 30. Post up: In a post up, a player positions themselves at the low post—located near the end of the court—and turns their back to the basket and any defensive players to receive a pass for a shot attempt. They can also screen any attempts at a steal or block from the defense.
31. 31. Swish: A swish is a shot that passes through the net without touching the rim or backboard. The term is onomatopoeia—a word that imitates a natural sound—which suggests the sound of the ball entering and leaving the net without any obstacles.
32. 32. Top of the key: The key, also known as the free-throw lane, the paint, or the lane, is the area of the court just outside the net that the free-throw line borders. This area is at the top of the semicircle, or arch, above the free-throw line.
33. 33. Wedgie: Wedgie refers to a situation in which the ball becomes stuck between the backboard and the rim. It typically occurs after a block attempt, free throw, or rebound.

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