Slang Basketball Terms
From Hoopedia
Basketball is a living game, changing all the time. The language of basketball changes, too.
Contents |
A
All Ball -- Often said by the defensive player who appears to have blocked the shot but instead is called for a foul.
All Day -- If a player can consistently make a shot, it is said that he can make it "all day".
D
Dunkadelic -- (adj.) The fusion of basketball and hip-hop inspired by the cultural aestetics of urban style, fashion, and attitude. Highlight dunks or dunkers to music or rap lyrics. A very powerful or thunderous dunk.
G
Gilmore -- to cause an opponent to fall on his ass and break his tailbone. Example: I unleashed my killer crossover and Gilmored his ass, now he has to sit on a cushion ring for 6 weeks.
H
Hack-a-Shaq -- a colloquial rhyme that comes from the term "to hack," common basketball slang meaning to commit a personal foul, and Shaq, being O'Neal's nickname. Famously used to hinder the scoring ability of Shaquille O'Neal, a notoriously poor free throw shooter. See Hack-a-Shaq for more detail.
P
Posterize -- verb; to embarrass an opponent or rival by dunking over him, or by taking advantage of a lapse on his part. For example, a player may attempt to block a dunk but fail (due to the defensive play of his opponent, or a player dunks flamboyantly over an opposing player. Ex.: In his "Dunk of Death," (right) Vince Carter posterized French center Frédéric Weis.
T
Trillion -- noun; a stat line in which a player enters the game for one minute, and fails to do anything that results in a statistical entry. Ex.:
| Player | Pos | Min | FG | FGA | FT | FTA | O Reb | D Reb | T Reb | Assts | Stls | Blks | PF | Pts |
| Bush, G. | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
In this game, "Bush collected a Trillion."
S
Shut down -- verb/noun; In street ball, when a team or player does something so good (handle, play or dunk), it makes the audience go crazy and the game gets put on hold while everyone gets over it, and often ends with the player throwing the ball into the stands. Ex:. "That is a shut down!'" "I just shut them down!" - Special reference to 50 aka The Shutdown King.
