NBA Basketball Glossary
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Air ball: Sarcastic term to describe a shot that doesn't touch the rim.
Alley-oop pass: A pass thrown to a player who is running toward the basket. The second player leaps, catches the ball in midair, and dunks it or lays it in before he lands.
Assist: A pass that leads directly to a basket.
Backcourt: A team's defensive half of the court. As it refers to players, a team's guards.
Backdoor play: A fundamental basketball play in which one player passes to a teammate in the high post, and when the defenders follow the ball, another player cuts to the basket from the opposite side of the court to take a pass for an open shot.
Bank shot: A shot that is aimed at a spot on the backboard so that it caroms, or "banks," into the basket.
Baseline: The line at each end of the court, under each basket. Also: endline.
Bench: Reserves.
Bounce pass: A pass thrown by a player to a teammate that bounces on the floor.
Box out: Use your body to stay between an opponent and the basket and thus get into better position for a rebound.
Brick: A hard, errant shot that caroms wildly off the basket or backboard.
Bunny: An open, uncontested shot, usually a layup or dunk. Also: snowbird.
Bury: Sink (a shot), as in "bury a jumper."
Charging: A violation in which an offensive player runs into a stationary opponent.
Chucker: A player who never met a shot he didn't like.
Coast-to-coast: From one end of the court to the other.
Collective Bargaining Agreement: The agreement between the NBA and the Players Association that governs all terms and conditions of employment of NBA players by NBA teams.
Cut: A quick move by an offensive player, usually toward the basket, to get in position for a shot.
Dead-ball foul: A foul committed while the clock is stopped and the ball is not in play.
Deny the ball: Prevent an opponent from getting the ball by guarding him closely and staying between him and the player in possession of the ball.
Double dribble: A violation in which a player dribbles the ball, stops, then begins to dribble again.
Double-team: The defensive tactic of two players guarding one.
Downtown: Far from the basket, often synonymous with beyond the three-point arc.
Draft: The annual selection process by which NBA teams select players from the colleges and elsewhere.
Dribble: Bounce the ball.
Dunk: A shot thrown downward through the basket, with one or two hands. Also: slam, slam-dunk, jam
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