Basketball. 

Some love it, others despise it. But do you really know the game? Maybe you need a nice refresher on simple facts, maybe you want to start watching the game, or maybe you are trying out for basketball and don’t want to make a fool of yourself, this article is perfect for you.

Basketball Terms and definitions:

The basketball: Ball used in the game.

Hoop or basket: The net that you can shoot the basketball through to score points.

Lay up: A type of way to shoot the ball to score points

3 pointer: A way to score 3 points by shooting the ball at the 3 point-line.

Free throw: A player is able to have a free chance to score shots if the other team’s player committed a foul. They have a chance to score as many points that they may have been able to score.

Dunk: A way to score by thrusting the ball into the hoop.

Alley-oop: One player throws the ball and another player who catches it in the air, then dunks the ball into the net.

Drive: When a player pushes their way to the basket to score close range points.

Close Range points: Scoring close to the basket

Hesi: Short for hesitation, it is basically when you fake going one way to then go another way

Ankle breaker: a player performs a series of flashy dribbles to shake or throw a player off balance.

Fade-away: A player jumps back while shooting the ball to create distance.

Heave: A long range shot that is beyond the half court line or far from the 3 point line

Bounce pass: A pass to another team mate that lands around the side of that teammates

Buzzer Beater- A shot that is let off right before the buzzer sounds to win or tie a game.

Chest pass: Passing to another teammate from the height of the chest

Lob pass: A pass over your head

Rules of Basketball:

The basic rules of basketball are pretty simple-

• You can score 1 point, 2 points, or 3 points, depending on where you are on the court.
• The farther away that you score from the net, the more points you gain.
• Once someone has scored, the other team gets possession of the ball.
• Whoever scores the most points wins.
• When the ball goes out-of-bounds (meaning outside the court), the opposite team is in possession of the ball and throws it back into the court, continuing the game.

• If a player is currently active in shooting the ball to score, and another player touches the player shooting the ball, this can cause alterations with the final result of points scored, leading to the free throw which gives the player another chance to score the same amount of points. For example, if you tried to score 2 points and were fouled, now you have the opportunity to go to the free throw line, and shoot 2 shots for 2 points.. If you make the first, but don’t make the second, then your teammate can rebound the ball and try to score more points. If you make both free throws, then you are unable to score more points in that drive.

Here’s a good picture to show how many points can be scored based on where you shoot.