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The offseason is home to the NBA Draft, free agency, Las Vegas Summer League, and an abundance of trades. All these moving pieces make for an exhilarating couple of months for basketball fans. But the thrill from these concurrent events soon withers into the monotony of worn-out rumors as writers rummage through the bottom of the barrel for content.
The dead period has left me exploring ways to remain engaged within the hoops community. Opinion pieces, podcasts, and Twitter Spaces sufficed for a while. Then YouTube pulled me down a rabbit hole of recommended videos that piqued my interest in improving my Spurs coverage by learning as much as possible about the glorious sport we all love.
I have dedicated the last few weeks to studying professional terminology and watching countless hours of breakdowns on offensive sets, defensive arrangements, and technical minutiae. Emerging with a better grasp of X’s and O’s was the goal, and though that happened, it made me wonder how many people genuinely know what is going on out there.
With a slow news cycle for the San Antonio Spurs and some free time on my hands, I made multiple quizzes and a corresponding crash course for essential basketball vocabulary. Part one should be a breeze as it focuses on specific areas of the court. But each subsequent set of questions will get more challenging, so study up before you give it a whirl.
Poll
The area just outside the lane along the baseline where a player can stand and wait for a catch-and-finish if his man helps on a drive, also known as the short corner.
This poll is closed
-
10%
Above the Break
(66 votes) -
53%
The Dunker’s Spot
(336 votes) -
30%
The Block
(191 votes) -
6%
The Paint
(38 votes)
Poll
The spots where the lane lines would theoretically intersect with the three point line.
This poll is closed
-
8%
The Nail
(49 votes) -
49%
Top of the Key
(294 votes) -
26%
The Elbow
(158 votes) -
15%
The Slot
(91 votes)
Poll
The spots on the three-point line between the corner and the top of the key, also known as the wing.
This poll is closed
-
11%
Weakside
(61 votes) -
1%
Restricted Area
(6 votes) -
26%
The Short Corner
(144 votes) -
60%
Above the Break
(328 votes)
Poll
The middle of the free throw line, also known as the plug.
This poll is closed
-
40%
The High Post
(211 votes) -
35%
The Nail
(186 votes) -
21%
The Lane
(112 votes) -
3%
The Tunnel
(17 votes)
Poll
The spot on the court at the corners of the free throw line, also known as the high post.
This poll is closed
-
10%
Top of the Key
(55 votes) -
83%
The Elbow
(420 votes) -
3%
The Corner
(19 votes) -
2%
The Wing
(12 votes)
Poll
The side of the court that has the ball handler.
This poll is closed
-
95%
Strongside
(475 votes) -
0%
Slotside
(2 votes) -
1%
Weakside
(6 votes) -
3%
Highside
(16 votes)
Poll
The lower arc inside the paint located four feet away from the basket where a defensive player cannot draw a charging foul from a driver.
This poll is closed
-
1%
Lower Defensive Box
(7 votes) -
93%
Restricted Area
(451 votes) -
3%
Restraining Circle
(19 votes) -
0%
The Plug
(3 votes)
Poll
The side of the court that doesn’t have the ball handler.
This poll is closed
-
0%
Highside
(2 votes) -
0%
Strongside
(1 vote) -
0%
Slotside
(4 votes) -
98%
Weakside
(480 votes)
Poll
The top of the semi-circle located above the free-throw line but below the three-point line.
This poll is closed
-
1%
The Wing
(8 votes) -
4%
Division Line
(19 votes) -
87%
Top of the Key
(415 votes) -
6%
The Hashmark
(31 votes)
Poll
The rectangular area near the basket that extends from the baseline to the free-throw line, also know as the lane or the key.
This poll is closed
-
95%
The Paint
(438 votes) -
3%
The Mid Post
(18 votes) -
0%
Coaching Box
(1 vote) -
0%
The Dunker’s Spot
(2 votes)
Poll
The spot on the court located near the lower-most part of paint, sometimes there are literal rectangular markers to pinpoint the spot, also know as the low post.
This poll is closed
-
3%
The Short Corner
(14 votes) -
84%
The Block
(375 votes) -
4%
Lane Lines
(20 votes) -
8%
The Alley
(37 votes)
Bonus Question: What do the acronyms BLOB, SLOB, and ATO stand for? (+10 points if you get all three right.)
Let us know how you think you did on part one, and make sure to check in Friday when we reveal all the correct answers in part two.
Special thanks to The Basketball Dictionary, The Basketball Action Dictionary, Unforgiving Hoops, Coach Daniel, Half Court Hoops, hoopvision68, Adam Spinella, and Stephen Noh for providing FREE resources for people with a thirst for basketball knowledge.
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