Below is a list of brief definitions of common basketball terminology:
| Air ball: | A shot that misses the backboard & rim of the basket. |
| Alley-oop: | A pass where the receiving player catches the ball in the air and shoots the ball without touching the ground, usually a slam dunk. |
| And one: | This is when a player gets fouled while in the act of shooting but still scores the basket. He then gets the opportunity to make it a three-point play by getting one free throw attempt. |
| Assist: | A player earns an assist when his pass leads directly to a basket by a teammate. |
| Backdoor: | When a player cuts behind his defender to the basket. |
| Baseline (endline): | The blue-lined mark surrounding the perimeter of the court where all the game action takes place. The opposite of a baseline is a sideline. |
| Bench: | The location, where coaches and players not in the game sit. A "bench" player is another term for a reserve. |
| Block: | Stopping a shot attempt from reaching the basket before the ball reaches its highest point. Often referred to as a "rejection." |
| Bounce pass: | Passing the ball from one player to another by bouncing it on the floor. |
| Center: | Usually one of the tallest player on the team whose skills may include shot-blocking, rebounding and scoring. |
| Cylinder: | The imaginary "cylindrical" space directly above the rim of the basket. Under NBA rules, the ball cannot be touched when it is in the cylinder. |
| Double double: | The feat of collecting ten or more of two statistical categories in one game. |
| Draft: | The selection process to determine on which teams the top newcomers will play. |
| Dribble: | The act of bouncing the ball continuously with one hand, and is a requirement for a player to take steps with the ball. To dribble, a player pushes the ball down towards the ground with the fingertips rather than patting it; this ensures greater control. |
| Fast break: | A play that occurs when the offensive team quickly gets the ball ahead of the defensive team. |
| Field goal: | A shooting attempt, missed or successful, by an offensive player during the course of a game. |
| Foul: | An attempt to unfairly disadvantage an opponent through physical contact. These are most commonly committed by defensive players; however, they can be committed by offensive players as well. Players who are fouled either receive the ball to pass inbounds again, or receive one or more free throws if they are fouled in the act of shooting, depending on whether the shot was successful. One point is awarded for making a free throw, which is attempted from a line 15 feet (4.6 m) from the basket. |
| Free throw: | When a foul is committed, the player fouled usually gets to shoot from the free-throw line (which is 15 feet from the basket) without being defended. |
| Goaltending: | A defensive player illegally blocking an opponents shot attempt when the balls' trajectory is downward, or within the parameters of the rims'cyclinder. |
| Halftime: | The intermission between the first and second half which usually lasts 15 minutes. Teams change the end of the court that they shoot at during half-time. |
| Illegal defense: | Two-defensive players guarding an offensive opponent without possession of the ball. |
| Jump shot: | An offensive attempt by any of the five players on the court. |
| Lane (or the Paint): | The painted area from the end line under the basket to the free-throw line. (Offensive players can not be in the lane more than three seconds -- this is called a three second violation) |
| Lay-up: | An offensive attempt other than a jump-shot whereby a player lays the ball off the backboard, and into the basket. |
| NBA Draft lottery: | The process that determines the first 13 picks in the NBA Draft. The team with the worst record gets the most chances. The team with the second worst record gets the second most chances, etc. The first three picks are determined by chance, the rest are in inverted order of the teams' record the previous season. |
| Overtime: | When a game is tied at the end of regulation play (48 minutes), the two teams play a five minute overtime. A game can include as many overtime periods as necessary to determine a winner. |
| Paint: | See the 'lane' above. |
| Pass: | The passing of the ball, either using a chest or bounce pass, to turn over possession of the ball to a teammate. |
| Personal foul: | A violation committed by one player against another player. Following a player's fifth personal foul (sixth in the NBA), he or she is disqualified for the rest of the game. |
| Point Guard: | Usually a team's best ballhandler. He leads the offense and distributes the ball to the team's best scorers. |
| Power Forward: | Known primarily for their rebounding and defensive skills, they spend most of their time around the basket. |
| Quadruple double: | The rare feat of collecting ten or more of four statistical categories during one game. |
| Rebound: | Controlling the ball following a missed shot. |
| Rejection: | See 'Block' above. |
| Reserve: | A player sitting on the bench other than the five currently competing in the game. |
| Rookie: | A player with no prior NBA experience, who usually is acquired in the NBA Draft. |
| Screen (or Pick): | The act of delaying or preventing an opponent from reaching a position, without causing undue contact. |
| Shot: | A player's attempt to score a basket. The most common form of shooting is jumping straight-up facing the basket, and releasing the ball using your fingertips as a guide. |
| Shot clock: | The shot clock is used to time possessions. The offensive team has 24 seconds to make a scoring attempt. |
| Shooting Guard: | Known primarily for their scoring and ballhandling, the shooting guard is usually one of the teams top offensive weapons. |
| Sideline: | The white or colored lines which mark the outer boundaries of a court. The opposite of a sideline is a baseline. |
| Sixth man: | Refers to the team's first player off the bench, after the staring five. |
| Slam dunk: | Making a basket by stuffing the ball down through the rim and into the net. |
| Small Forward: | Known primarily for their offense, the small forward is not necessarily smaller than the power forward. |
| Steal: | Taking the ball away from an opponent or intercepting a pass. |
| Swing-man: | A player who can "swing" back and forth and play two positions. |
| Technical foul: | A technical foul is assessed for violations such as illegal defense as well as player and coach misconduct. |
| Three-point field goal: | A shot attempted by a player from beyond an arc distanced at 22'feet. |
| Three second violation: | When an offensive player is in the "lane" more than three seconds. |
| Time-out: | A requested break in action by a team either with the possession of the ball, or when the ball is dead. |
| Traveling: | Taking more steps without dribbling than is allowed. In the NBA and FIBA, a gather step is allowed, which with proper timing enables players to take one more step than is usually allowed. |
| Trillion: | A stat line in which a player fails to collect either a shot, point, rebound, assist, or foul, thus resulting in a stat line of all zeros. |
| Triple double: | The feat of collecting ten or more of three statistical categories in one game. |
| Turnover: | A miscue that results in a change of possession. |
| Weak-side: | The portion of the defensive team on the court furthest away from the offensive player with possession of the ball. |