Basketball Vocab

Vocab

  • And One – when a player gets fouled and the shot that the player was fouled on goes in
  • Assist – when a player passes the ball to another player who scores
  • Backboard – the area of the basket that the rim is attached to

basket.JPG

  • Buzzer Beater – when a shot goes in at the last possible moment before the buzzer goes off
  • Charge – a penalty where the ball carrier runs into stationary defensive player (results in turnover)
  • Dead Ball – when game play has stopped i.e. when the ball goes out of bounds, a foul is called by a referee, a timeout is called, player injury or foul shot has yet to be attempted. The referee usually indicates a dead ball by blowing the whistle and game/shot clock are stopped
  • Double-team – when 2 defensive players guard a single offensive player
    • Typically seen in college on the post players on the weak side
  • Dribbling – the act of bouncing the ball with one’s fingertips to move the ball forward
  • Elbow – the area of the court where the lane line meet the free throw line. First player to the elbow (offense or defense) will gain an advantage

Court with labels.JPG

  • Fast Break – when a player gets a defensive rebound and follows that immediately with an outlet pass to a teammate who has sprinted down the court to the basket. This should be done quickly before the other team has a chance to catch up
  • Foul Out – when a player draws the specific number of personal fouls and gets thrown out of the game (NBA: 6 fouls per game and NCAAM: 5 fouls for the game)
  • Foul To Give – if a team has committed so few fouls that they will not put the opponent in the bonus, they have a foul to give
  • Free Throw line – where foul shots (‘free throws’) are taken
    • 15’ from the basket
  • Full Court Press – a defensive strategy where the defense guards the offense over the entire court (not just waiting until the offense crosses the midcourt line)
  • Give and Go – a play where one player passes the ball to a teammate and immediately makes a move toward the basket, the ball is passed back to him and attempts a layup
  • Half Time – the time in-between halves (or between Q2 and Q3) where the teams get to go into the locker room for a 15 min break in the game
  • In the Bonus – a team is considered in the bonus when the opposing team makes a certain number of fouls; from then on in that half, the other team will get to take free throws regardless if the foul was a shooting foul. (NCAAM: 7th foul) (NBA: 5th team foul or 2nd foul in the final 2 minutes of a quarter)
    • Double Bonus: (NCAAM) After the 10th foul, the other team gets 2 free throws (whether the first one is made or not)
  • Inside the Paint – inside the box that makes up the free throw lane
  • Interception – when the defense gets a pass between offensive players
  • Jump Ball – when an official throws up the basketball between 2 players from opposing teams who look to gain control
  • Man-to-Man – a defensive strategy where each defensive player guards a certain player on the other team (opposite of zone defense).
  • March Madness – the time of year when the NCAA tournament is on
    • It’s usually called ‘madness’ because it’s a one loss tournament which leaves room for lower ranked teams to upset top teams
      • This is in juxtaposition with the NBA which plays a best of 7 game system
  • One and One – a type of free throw that the player has to make the first free throw to get a second free throw
  • Post – area just outside of the key/paint where the blocks are painted
    • A good post player is basically considered the work horse of the team and plays most of the time with his back to the basket. He is ok getting hit even when he doesn’t have the ball and tries exponentially on every single play
  • Rebound – the gain of possession after a ball missed the basket
    • When the offensive team (or the team who just shot the ball) gets the ball back, it’s called an offensive rebound.
    • When the defense gets the rebound and possession of the ball, its call a defensive rebound.
  • Rim – the part of the basket where the net hangs from
  • Screen – an offensive play where one offensive player does not move and blocks a teammate’s defender
  • Screen and Roll – an offensive play that builds on the offensive screen on a teammate’s defender, leaving that teammate open to ‘roll’ under the basket for a layup
  • Second Chance Points – any points gained after an offensive rebound (so a missed first shot). Not counting free throws
  • Shot Clock – the timer that shows how fast the offense has to shoot the ball or they will forfeit possession: 24 seconds (NBA) or 30 seconds (NCAAM)
  • Sixth Man – the player that is not a starter but comes off the bench much more than the other players
  • Steal – when the defense gets the ball from an offensive player while dribbling
  • Strong Side – the side of the court the ball is currently on (left or right)
  • Three point line – the line (semi-circle) where shots occurring outside that line = 3 points. Everything inside = 2 points.
    • 23’9” from the basket
  • Turnover – when the defense gets the ball from the offense by an offensive foul, steal or out of bounds
  • Top of the Key – the area of the court that most players like to shoot from at the top of the 3 point line (see ‘x’ on court diagram)
  • Traps – a defensive play that traps a player in one of the four the corners of the court making it hard to pass or shoot
  • Triple-Double – anytime a player accomplishes double-digits in 3 stat categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots
  • Weak Side – the side of the court the ball is not currently on
  • Zone – a defensive strategy in which each defender is in charge of their own of the court (opposite of Man-to-man defense).
    • Usually used to prevent offenses from getting to the basket more easily.
    • Downside to the zone defense is it allows shooters with better looks at the basket if the offense moves the ball effectively

Fouls/Violations:

There are 3 major types of fouls: personal foul, flagrant foul and a technical foul. I will not list all of the fouls in the game but I will include the most common ones.

  • Personal Foul – usually results from excessive contact between 2 players from opposing teams (most common type of foul). Keep in mind that there is always some contact between players during play and it is subjective on what is too much contact vs not to the referee. This foul usually gets called on the defense.
    • If it gets called on the offense, it is an offensive foul
    • If neither player is in possession of the ball when the foul occurs, this is called a loose-ball foul
    • Types of Personal Fouls:
      • Blocking – when the defender is to blame for excessive contact
      • Charging – when the ball carrier is to blame for excessive contact
        • Typically the ball carrier is to blame when the defender gets hit in the torso, took a guarding position of both feet on the floor before contact or when the defender was not moving forward when contact occurred
        • This is not usually called within a 4ft radius under the basket
      • Hand-Checking – contact by the defense on the ball carrier that hinders player’s balance, speed, quickness, etc
      • Holding – contact that inhibits player’s freedom of movement
      • Illegal Use of Hands – contact by the defense’s hands outside the cylinder resulting in illegal contact
        • Ex: going for a steal and hitting the ball carriers’ arm
      • Pushing – contact that displaces a player
        • Ex: using body weight to move a player
  • Flagrant Foul – when there is excessive contact between 2 players that is ruled as not an attempt to play the ball
    • 2 of these penalties will get a player thrown out of the game
  • Technical Foul – a foul that is given for unsportsmanlike conduct, delay of game, illegal defense. This foul that does not require contact. Referees can give a warning (usually before the first technical) but that is up to the referee’s discretion.
    • These fouls result in 1-2 free throws and can be taken by any of the players on the court at the time
    • In the NBA, there are 2 types of technical fouls: Unsportsmanlike and Non-unsportsmanlike. An unsportsmanlike technical foul usually ends in a fine and if the player accumulates 16 in a season, that player is suspended for one game. The punishment goes up exponentially from there.
    • Types of Technical Fouls:
      • Flopping – faking a foul (also see soccer)
      • Taunting

Violations

Violations are not the same thing as fouls. Violations mostly result in giving the ball to the other team, as most of the time the offensive is the team receiving the violation. Violations count as a turnover.

  • Back Court Violation – if the offense takes the ball back over the midcourt line
  • Carrying/palming – if the player dribbles the ball with his hand too far on the side or under the ball
  • Double Dribble – dribbling the ball with both hands on the ball at the same time
  • Goaltending – When the defender touches the ball after it’s in the downward half of its arch or after the ball has touched the backboard or is directly above the rim
  • Moving Screen – when the offensive player tries to set up a screen but moves
  • Three in the Key – also called a lane violation when the offensive player stands inside the key for longer than 3 consecutive seconds
  • Traveling – if a player carries that ball without passing or dribbling for more than 2 steps
    • The other team is awarded possession of the ball after a traveling foul

 

Now that you’ve read this list, it should be easier to understand the Rules of the Game page!

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