Basketball terms: the glossary every player and parent needs

Basketball has its own language. Coaches shout "box out", commentators talk about "the and-one" and the pickup court has its own slang. This glossary explains the words you will actually hear, grouped by topic, one line each.

New to coaching or managing a team? Bookmark it and send it to parents at the start of the season.

Scoring terms

• Field goal — any basket scored during play, worth two or three points.
• Three-pointer — a shot made from behind the three-point line.
• Free throw — an unguarded shot from the free-throw line, worth one point, usually awarded after a foul.
• And-one — a made basket while being fouled, which earns one extra free throw.
• Layup — a close-range shot banked or rolled off the hand near the rim.
• Dunk — pushing the ball down through the hoop from above the rim.
• Jump shot (jumper) — a shot released at the top of a jump.
• Floater — a soft, high shot released early to float over taller defenders.
• Hook shot — a one-handed shot swung in an arc, side-on to the basket.
• Bank shot — a shot that hits the backboard before going in.
• Swish — a shot that goes in without touching the rim or backboard.
• Tip-in — tapping a missed shot back into the basket.
• Putback — grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring straight away.
• Fast break — a quick attack before the defense can set up.
• Bucket — slang for a basket.

Court terms

• Paint (key, lane) — the painted rectangle under each basket.
• Three-point line — the arc that separates two-point and three-point shots.
• Free-throw line — the line 15 feet (4.6 m) from the backboard where free throws are taken.
• Baseline — the end line behind each basket.
• Sideline — the long boundary lines on each side of the court.
• Half-court line — the line dividing the court in two.
• Block — the small marks on the side of the lane, where post players set up.
• Elbow — where the free-throw line meets the side of the lane.
• Wing — the area on either side of the court, outside the lane and inside the three-point line.
• Corner — the spot on the baseline behind the three-point line; the shortest three-pointer on the floor.
• Top of the key — the area straight out from the basket at the top of the arc.

Positions

• Point guard (1) — the main ball handler who runs the offense.
• Shooting guard (2) — usually the best outside shooter.
• Small forward (3) — a versatile scorer who plays inside and out.
• Power forward (4) — a strong player who rebounds and scores near the basket.
• Center (5) — usually the tallest player, protecting the rim and playing in the post.
• Combo guard — a player who can play both guard spots.
• Wing — a guard or forward who plays on the sides of the court.
• Big — a forward or center.
• Sixth man — the first substitute off the bench.

Fouls and violations

• Personal foul — illegal contact with an opponent.
• Shooting foul — a foul on a player in the act of shooting, which earns free throws.
• Technical foul — a penalty for unsportsmanlike behavior or certain administrative violations.
• Flagrant foul — excessive or violent contact.
• Charge — an offensive foul where the ball handler runs into a set defender.
• Block (blocking foul) — a defensive foul for moving into the path of the ball handler.
• Bonus (penalty) — after a set number of team fouls, every foul gives the other team free throws.
• Foul out — leaving the game after reaching the personal-foul limit (five in most amateur and college games, six in the NBA).
• Traveling (walk) — moving with the ball without dribbling.
• Double dribble — dribbling with both hands at once, or dribbling again after stopping.
• Carry (palming) — letting the ball come to rest in the hand while dribbling.
• Backcourt violation (over and back) — taking the ball back over the half-court line after crossing it.
• Three seconds — an offensive player staying in the lane for more than three seconds.
• Shot clock violation — failing to shoot before the shot clock expires.
• Goaltending — blocking a shot on its way down toward the basket, or touching it on the rim. The basket counts.

Offense and plays

• Pick and roll — a teammate sets a screen for the ball handler, then rolls toward the basket for a pass.
• Screen (pick) — standing still to block a defender's path so a teammate can get free.
• Give and go — passing to a teammate and cutting to the basket for the return pass.
• Backdoor cut — cutting behind a defender toward the basket.
• Isolation (iso) — clearing space so one player can go one-on-one.
• Post up — a player backing their defender down near the basket.
• Motion offense — an offense built on constant movement and reads rather than set plays.
• Inbound — passing the ball into play from out of bounds.
• Assist — a pass that leads directly to a basket.
• Turnover — losing possession without taking a shot.
• Alley-oop — a pass thrown near the rim that a teammate catches and scores in mid-air.

Defense

• Man-to-man — each defender guards one opponent.
• Zone defense — each defender guards an area, as in a 2-3 or 3-2 zone.
• Full-court press — guarding the other team across the whole court to force turnovers.
• Help defense — leaving your player to stop a ball handler who has beaten a teammate.
• Box out — using your body to keep an opponent away from a rebound.
• Rebound (board) — catching a missed shot. Offensive rebounds keep possession; defensive ones win it back.
• Steal — taking the ball from an opponent.
• Block (blocked shot) — deflecting a shot legally.
• Switch — two defenders swapping the players they guard, usually on a screen.
• Closeout — sprinting at a shooter, then slowing down under control.

Game and stats terms

• Tip-off (jump ball) — the jump at center court that starts the game.
• Possession arrow — decides who gets the ball on later jump balls in most leagues below the NBA.
• Shot clock — the limit for attempting a shot: 24 seconds in the NBA and FIBA, 30 seconds in US college basketball.
• Quarter — most games have four; US high school quarters are eight minutes, FIBA ten, NBA twelve.
• Timeout — a stoppage called by a coach or player.
• Double-double — reaching ten or more in two stat categories, such as points and rebounds.
• Triple-double — ten or more in three categories.
• Plus-minus — the team's point difference while a player is on the court.
• Box score — the stat sheet for a game.

Pickup and street slang

• Run — a pickup game, or a stretch where one team scores repeatedly.
• Next — calling the next game on the court.
• Ones and twos — scoring by ones (inside the arc) and twos (outside) in many pickup games.
• Make it, take it — the team that scores keeps the ball.
• Check ball — handing the ball to the defender to restart play.
• Brick — a badly missed shot.
• Air ball — a shot that misses everything.
• Handles — dribbling skill.
• Cooking (cooked) — scoring easily on a defender, or being the defender it happens to.
• Heat check — a difficult shot taken by a player on a hot streak.

Organizing the team behind the terms

Knowing the words is the easy part. The admin behind a basketball team — who is coming to practice, whether you have five for Saturday, who has paid for the gym — is what eats coaches' evenings.

TeamCheck for basketball handles that: players confirm practices and games with one tap, you see the live count, and gym and court fees are tracked per player. The free plan covers one team of up to 15.