Basketball Glossary

Welcome to the most comprehensive Basketball Glossary online. This resource provides detailed, in-depth explanations of basketball terminology, from fundamental concepts to advanced strategies and modern analytics. Each term includes historical context, technical details, and real-world applications from professional basketball.

Total 1004 basketball terms

All Terms

#

1-2-1-1 Press 1-3-1 Zone 10-Second Violation 2-2-1 Press 2-3 Zone 3-2 Zone 3-and-D 45 Cut 8-Second Violation

A

ABA Above the Break Above the Break Three Above the Rim Acceleration Active Feet Active Hands Adjusted Plus-Minus Advance Rule Advanced Statistics Advanced Stats Advancement After Timeout Play All Around Game All-Around Player All-NBA Team All-Star All-Star Weekend Alley-Oop Ambidextrous Amoeba Defense Analytics And-One Ankle Breaker Anticipation Arc Area Responsibility Assist Assist Percentage Assist-to-Turnover Ratio Attack the Basket Awareness

B

Back Cut Back Cut Defense Back Screen Back Screen Action Back-to-Back Games Backboard Backcourt Backcourt Pressure Backcourt Violation Backdoor Cut Backspin Ball Control Ball Denial Ball Dominant Ball Handler Ball Handling Ball Movement Ball Pressure Ball Reversal Ball Reversal Action Ball Screen Ball Screen Defense Ball Security Ball Side Ball You Man Ball-Side Rebounding Position Ball-You-Man Principle Bank Shot Baseball Pass Baseline Baseline Cut Baseline Drive Baseline Out of Bounds Baseline Play Baseline Screen Baseline Trap Basket Cut Basket Cut Defense Basket Interference Basketball IQ Basketball on Paper Beat the Cutter Behind the Back Behind-the-Back Pass Bench Bench Player Bench Points Bench Scoring Bench Unit Between the Legs Beyond the Arc Bilateral Skills Blind Pig Blitz Pick and Roll BLOB Block Block Percentage Blocking Foul Blue Coverage Boards Body Control Body Up Bonus Bonus Situation Bounce Pass Box and One Box Out Box Plus-Minus Box Set Boxing Out Bump and Trail Bump the Cutter

C

Carrying Catch and Face Catch and Shoot Catch and Shoot Frequency Center Championship Championship Dynasty Change of Direction Change of Pace Channel the Drive Charge Charges Drawn Charging Charity Stripe Chase-Down Block Chaser Chest Pass Chicago Action Chicago Bulls Chin Action Chinning the Ball Circle Cut Clear Path Foul Clearout Clock Management Close-out Closeout Closeout Drill Closeout Quality Closeout Technique Closing Lineup Clutch Performance Coaching Philosophy Cold Zone College Basketball Combo Guard Complete Game Complete Player Consecutive Jump Contact Contact Finish Contact Foul Contain the Drive Contest Contest Percentage Contest Without Fouling Contested Shot Contested Shots Continuity Action Continuity Offense Coordination Core Strength Corner Series Corner Three Corner Three Percentage Corner Trap Counter Cut Court Awareness Court Vision Crash the Boards Crash the Glass Creativity Cross Screen Cross-Match Crossover Crossover Dribble Crunch Time Curl Cut Cut Cutting Cutting Action Cutting Frequency Cutting Lane Cylinder

D

Dead Ball Dean Oliver Deception Decision Making Deep Bench Deep Position Deep Shot Defender Impact Defensive Anchor Defensive Angles Defensive Anticipation Defensive Assignment Defensive Box Plus-Minus Defensive Breakdown Defensive Communication Defensive Deflection Defensive Efficiency Defensive Foul Defensive Fundamentals Defensive Intensity Defensive Matchup Defensive Playmaker Defensive Position Defensive Positioning Defensive Pressure Defensive Rating Defensive Real Plus-Minus Defensive Rebound Defensive Rebound Percentage Defensive Rebounding Defensive Recovery Defensive Rotation Defensive Scheme Defensive Schemes Defensive Slide Defensive Specialist Defensive Stance Defensive Switching Defensive System Defensive Three Seconds Defensive Three-Second Defensive Versatility Defensive Win Shares Deflection Deflections Denial Defense Deny Defense Deny the Entry Deny the Outlet Deny the Passing Lane Deny the Post Deny the Wing Depth Depth Chart Diagonal Screen Diamond and One Diamond Press Dig at the Ball Dig Defense Dig Down Dime Disqualification Diving for Balls Double Bonus Double Drag Double Dribble Double Screen Double Team Double the Post Double-Double Down Screen Down Screen Action Downscreen Drag Screen Drawing Fouls Dribble Dribble Drive Motion Dribble Hand-Off Dribble Handoff Dribble Penetration Dribble Weave Dribbling Drift Pass Drive Drive and Dish Drive and Kick Drive Efficiency Drives Per Game Driving Lane Driving to the Basket Drop Coverage Drop Coverage Deep Drop Step Duck In Dunking Dynasty

E

Early Offense Eastern Conference Effective Field Goal Percentage Efficiency Efficient Scoring Effort Plays Eight-Second Violation Ejection Elbow Alignment Elbow Extended Elbow Jumper Elbow Set Elbow Touch Elbows Elevator Doors Elevator Screen Empty Corner Energy Player Entry Pass Euro Step Eurostep Excessive Contact Expected Points Explosive Power Extra Pass

F

Face-Up Game Facilitator Fade Fade Cut Fadeaway Fake Help Fake Screen Fake Trap Fancy Pass Fast Break Fast Break Points Per Game Fast-Twitch Muscle Field Goal Field Goal Percentage Fight Over Screen Fighting Fill the Stat Sheet Finesse Finger Roll Finish Finishing Finishing at the Rim First Step Fist Action Five-Man Unit Five-Out Five-Out Offense Five-Second Violation Flagrant Foul Flare Screen Flare Screen Action Flash Cut Flash Post Flat Triangle Flex Cut Flex Offense Flex Screen Flip Action Flip Pass Floater Floor Balance Floor Burns Floor General Floor Spacing Flopping Follow Shot Follow Your Shot Follow-Through Footwork Force Baseline Defense Force Direction Force Middle Defense Force the Lob Foul Foul Management Foul Trouble Fouling Strategy Four Factors Four Out One In Fourth Quarter Free Throw Free Throw Circle Free Throw Line Free Throw Line Extended Free Throw Rate Free Throw Shooting Free Throws Freedom of Movement Frequency Fresh Legs Front the Post Frontcourt Fronting Fronting the Post Full Deny Full-Court Press Funnel to Trap

G

Game Clock Game Management Game Plan Game Score Game Sense Game Strategy Game Winner Gang Rebounding Gap Defense Gap Help Gather Step George Gervin George Mikan Get in the Gap Getting Open Ghost Screen Give and Go Glass Glue Guy Go Under Screen Goaltending Gravity

H

Hack-a-Shaq Half-Court Line Half-Court Offense Half-Court Trap Hall of Fame Hand Check Hand in the Face Hand-Checking Handle Handoff Hands Up Defense Hard Foul Hard Hedge Hedge Hedge and Recover Hedge Defense Hedge Drill Heliocentric Offense Help and Recover Help Defense Help Rotation Help Side Help Side Defense Help the Helper Hero Ball Hesitation Move High Hand Defense High Post High Screen High Triangle High-Low High-Low Action Hockey Assist Holding Foul Hollinger Hook Shot Horns Formation Horns Set Hot Zone Hustle Hustle Play Hustle Stats Hybrid Defense

I

Ice Defense Ice Pick and Roll Iceman Illegal Contact Illegal Screen Impact Metrics Impact Player In and Out Dribble Inbound Pass Inbound Play Inbounds Play Individual Defensive Rating Individual Offensive Rating Injury Prevention Instant Offense Intangibles Intentional Foul Isolation Isolation Frequency Iverson Cut

J

Jab Step Jump Ball Jump Hook Jump Shot Jump Stop Jump the Cut Jump to the Ball Junk Defense

K

Key Kobe Bryant

L

L-Cut Lane Lane Filling Lane Violation Last Second Shot Late-Game Execution Lateral Quickness Layup LeBron James Legal Guarding Position Level Pick and Roll Lineup Lineup Combinations Lineup Net Rating Lineup Rating Live Ball Live Ball Turnover Load Management Load to the Ball Lob Pass Lock and Trail Long Closeout Long Range Loop Cut Loose Ball Loose Balls Los Angeles Lakers Lou Williams Low Post Low-High Action

M

Magic Johnson Make Contact Man Trap Man-to-Man Defense Manu Ginobili Match-Up Zone Matchup Matchup Defense Matchup Hunting Matchup Zone Meet the Pass Michael Jordan Microwave Microwave Scorer Mid-Range Mid-Range Frequency Mid-Range Game Mid-Range Shot Midcourt Midcourt Line Middle Pick and Roll Mikan Drill Minutes Per Game Minutes Restriction Misdirection Mismatch Modern Basketball Motion Offense Moving Screen MVP

N

Nail Defense NBA Championship NBA Finals Net Rating Net Rating Off Court Net Rating On Court No Middle Defense No-Look Pass Nose on Ball Numbers Advantage

O

Off the Dribble Off-Ball Defense Off-Ball Movement Off-Ball Screen Off-Ball Screen Frequency Offensive Efficiency Offensive Flow Offensive Formation Offensive Foul Offensive Glass Offensive Load Offensive Positioning Offensive Rating Offensive Rebound Offensive Rebound Percentage Offensive Rebound Putback Offensive Rebounding Offensive Spacing Offensive Spark Offensive Strategy Offensive System Officials On-Ball Defense On-Ball Pressure On-Off Court On-Off Splits One Pass Away One-and-One One-on-One Opponent Field Goal Percentage Opponent Free Throw Rate Opponent Three-Point Percentage Opponent Turnover Percentage Out of Bounds Outlet Pass Outside Shot Over and Back Overhead Pass Overplay Overs Coverage

P

Pace Pace and Space Pace Factor Pack Line Defense Paint Paint Attack Paint Defense Paint Protection Paint Scoring Paint Touch Palming Pass and Cut Passing Passing Lane Passing Lane Denial Pattern Offense Penalty Situation Penetration Per 100 Possessions Perimeter Perimeter Defense Perimeter Shooting Peripheral Vision Personal Foul Pete Maravich Phil Jackson Physical Defense Physical Play Pick and Pop Pick and Roll Pick and Roll Ball Handler Frequency Pick and Roll Roll Man Frequency Pick-and-Roll Defense Pickpocket Pin Down Pin Down Screen Pin Screen Pin the Roller Pistol Formation Pistol Stance Pivot Foot Play Call Player Development Player Efficiency Rating Player Health Player Tracking Playing Speed Playmaker Playmaking Playoff Preparation Playoffs Plus-Minus Plyometrics Pocket Pocket Pass Pocket Pass Out of Pick and Roll Point Differential Point Forward Point Guard Points Points in the Paint Points in Transition Points Off Turnovers Points Per Game Points Per Possession Points Per Shot Points Produced Pop Position Position-less Basketball Positionless Basketball Possession Possessions Possessions Used Post Defense Post Entry Post Entry Pass Post Move Post Moves Post Play Post Position Post Scoring Post Split Post Touch Post Up Frequency Post-Up Power Forward Press Break Press Defense Pressing Defense Pressure the Ball Primary Ball Handler Primary Break Princeton Offense Processing Speed Protect the Ball Protect the Rim Pull-up Pull-Up Frequency Pull-Up Jumper Pump Fake Pursue the Rebound Push Pass Put-Back Putback Putback Frequency

Q

Quantified Shot Quality

R

Ram Screen Range Read and React Reading the Defense Real Plus-Minus Rebound Rebound Percentage Rebounding Rebounding Position Recover Recover Drill Recover to Shooter Recovery Regularized Adjusted Plus-Minus Reject Cut Reject the Screen Rejection Release Point Reserve Reserve Players Reserves Rest Day Restricted Area Restricted Area Percentage Reverse Action Reverse Layup Ricky Cut Ridge Regression Rim Rim Attack Rim Frequency Rim Protection Rim Protection Percentage Rim Runner Rip Action Rip Through Rise to Shooter Role Player Roll Roll Man Roster Construction Rotation Rotation Defense Rotation Player Rotation Players Rotations Run and Jump Runner

S

San Antonio Spurs Scissor Cut Scoring Scoring Champion Scoring Efficiency Scottie Pippen Scramble Defense Screen Screen and Cut Screen and Relocate Screen and Roll Screen Angle Screen Assists Screen Away Screen Contact Screen Defense Screen Navigation Screen Setting Screen the Screener Screen Usage Screener Screening Screening Action Screening Fundamentals Seal Seal and Roll Seal the Cutter Seal the Defender Second Chance Points Per Game Second Rotation Second Spectrum Second Unit Second-Chance Points Secondary Break Self-Creation Sequential Screening Set Play Seven Seconds or Less Shallow Cut Shell Drill Shooting Shooting Efficiency Shooting Form Shooting Foul Shooting Guard Shooting Mechanics Shooting Percentage Shooting Range Short Closeout Short Roll Shot Alteration Shot Blocker Shot Blocking Shot Chart Shot Clock Shot Clock Violation Shot Contest Shot Creation Shot Creator Shot Defense Shot Fake Shot Mechanics Shot Quality Shot Selection Shot Trajectory Show and Recover Show Defense Showtime Shrink the Floor Shuffle Cut Shuffle Offense Side Pick and Roll Sideline Out of Bounds Sideline Play Sideline Trap Sink on Drive Situational Basketball Sixth Man Size Advantage Skill Development Skip Pass Skip Pass Action Slam Dunk Slip and Pop Slip Screen SLOB Small Ball Small Ball Lineup Small Forward Smooth Scorer Snake Dribble Soft Hedge Soft Touch Spacing Spain Action Spain Pick and Roll Spark Plug Special Situations Speed Advantage Splash Brothers Split Action Split Line Sports Science SportVU Spot Up Spot-Up Shooter Spread Offense Spread Pick and Roll Sprint and Chop Sprint Back Stack Formation Stack Set Stagger Screen Staggered Screen Starter Starting Five Starting Lineup Stat Line Stat Sheet Stuffer Stay at Home Defense Stay Big Stay in Front Steal Steal Percentage Steal the Pocket Steals Step-Back Stephen Curry Strategic Foul Stretch Big Stretch Five Stretch Four Strip Strip the Ball Strong Side Strong Side Defense Stunt and Recover Stunt Defense Substitute Substitution Substitution Pattern Swing Action Swing Pass Swiss Army Knife Switch Switch All Screens Switch Defense Switch on Screen Switchability Switching Switching Defense

T

Tag the Roller Take Foul Tandem Defense Target Box Team Chemistry Team Culture Team Defense Team Foul Teardrop Technical Foul Tempo Tempo Control Ten-Second Violation Tex Winter Third Rotation Three-Man Lineup Three-Point Contest Three-Point Frequency Three-Point Line Three-Point Percentage Three-Point Shooting Three-Point Shot Three-Point Specialist Three-Pointer Three-Quarter Deny Three-Quarter Front Three-Second Violation Time Management Timeline Timeout Tip-In Token Pressure Top of the Key Touch Touch Pass Trailer Transition Transition Defense Transition Frequency Transition Offense Trap Trap Defense Trap Pick and Roll Trapping Defense Traveling Triangle and Two Triangle Offense Triple Screen Triple Threat Triple-Double True Shooting Percentage Turnaround Jumper Turnover Turnover Percentage Twist Action Two Passes Away Two-Man Game Two-Man Lineup Two-Point Percentage Two-Way Finishing Two-Way Player

U

UCLA Cut Unders Coverage Unsportsmanlike Conduct Unsportsmanlike Foul Up and Down Up-and-Under Usage Rate Utility Player

V

V-Cut Value Over Replacement Player Versatile Versatility Vertical Contest Vertical Defense Vertical Leap Vertical Spacing Verticality Violation Vision Volume Scorer Volume Scoring

W

Weak Hand Weak Side Weak Side Action Weak Side Cut Weak Side Defense Weak Side Help Weak-Side Rebound Weak-Side Rebounding Position Weave Action Wedge Screen Well Rounded Western Conference Win Shares Wing Wing Defender Wing Position Workload Management Wrap Around Pass

X

X-Out

Z

Zipper Cut Zone Defense Zone Defense Principles Zone Offense Zone Press Zone Shifts Zone Trap