If you haven’t read part 1, you can find it here.
As I said in part 1, after moving in with my grandmother, I began seeing more basketball than I ever wanted to watch. Of course, having played in high school, I knew the terminology used by the commentators, but I also realized how confusing it could be to someone who doesn’t know anything about basketball.
And that’s when I decided to compile a list of basketball lingo.
Basket – The hoop, the bucket, etc. Making a bucket is to score.
Deuce – This refers to a two-point shot, oftentimes referred to as an “easy deuce”.
Nothing but net – Another phrase used in reference to scoring, this is used whenever a shooter sinks a shot without using the rim or the backboard.
Lay-up – A lay-up is when a player dribbles the ball up to the hoop and shoots a short shot usually off the backboard.
The Wings – These are the areas near and around the top of the arch but not directly at the top.
The Post – The area down the court near the hoop.
Big man – Or big men. It refers to any player on the court who is very tall and is usually under the hoop to get rebounds and block shots.
Shot Clock – A clock that is separate from the game clock. There are 35 seconds in each possession for the offense in which they must make a shot that touches the rim at the very least. It’s okay if the shot misses. They can rebound it and shoot it again with 35 new seconds, which is referred to as a “fresh 35”.
Starters – The five players who are on the court from the very beginning of the game.
The Bench – These are the other players who don’t start the game but will get switched in and out of the game. It also refers to the literal bench on the side of the court where the players who aren’t playing and the coaches stay.
Run – A run doesn’t mean to run up and down the court; it is a period of time in which one team scores many consecutive points while the other team does not score or only scores a few points.
Down to the wire – If the game is close, commentators will say that it is going down to the wire, which means it is going to be decided right at the end of the game, that time is running out.
Rebound – This is when either an offensive or defensive player gets the ball after a missed shot.
Blocks – Different from a rebound, this is when a player blocks a shot from going in the hoop after the ball is shot.
Assists – When a player with the ball passes it to a player who is in position to shoot or dunk it and that player makes the shot, the player who originally had the ball is credited with an assist.
Brackets – These are the match-ups for the big dance.
Bracketology – Most sports’ channels call the ‘science’ of determining who will be in the big dance and where they will be seeded is called this. It is a fine art whose voice of authority is Joe Lunardi.
The Bubble – This is an imaginary sphere where the teams that are invited to the big dance are inside, those who aren’t are outside, and those who aren’t sure yet are on the bubble. These teams have a chance to get invited but their invitation isn’t secure.
Sources:
Personal Experience
