| Acronym | Term | Definition |
| | Air Ball | A shot attempt that completely fails to hit the rim |
| | Alley-oop | A play where the ball is thrown up near the rim and dunked or layed up by a second player |
| AST | Assist | A pass that's credited for leading to a scored basket |
| AST/TO | Assist to Turnover Ratio | A comparison of ability to control possession of the ball. |
| | Backcourt | 1. The area of the court behind the halfcourt line, 2. A descriptor for the two guard spots on offense |
| | Baseline | The line at the ends of the court under each basket |
| BN | Bench | Any player who does not start, but is eligible to play in a game. In fantasy, inactive players are on your "bench." |
| BS | Blocked Shot | When a FGA is rejected in the attempt to score a basket |
| BA | Blocks Against | A measure of how many times a BS has been inflicted on a specific player |
| | Box out | Using the body to secure position for a rebound |
| | Brick | A shot which "clangs" off the rim and careens in a random direction, obviously missing the FGA |
| | Charge/Charging | An offensive foul where an offensive player runs into a non-moving defensive player |
| | Charity Stripe | Another word for foul line |
| | Chucker | A player who likes to shoot anytime, anywhere |
| | Contract Year | When a player is in the final year of their current contract and will be an unrestricted free agent after the season |
| | Cut | A quick, slicing move |
| | Defensive Rebound | When a defensive player grabs a rebound |
| DD | Double dribble | When a player dribbles the ball, then stops or holds it, and resumes dribbling again |
| | Double-team | A defensive maneuver that involves two players ganging up on one player in hopes of forcing a mistake |
| | Downtown | Beyond the three point arc |
| DNP | DNP | Did not play. Player did not enter the game and post any minutes on the box score. |
| | Fast break | A quick play where a team gets possession of the ball and races down the court hoping to catch the defense off guard |
| FG | Field Goal | A basket worth either two or three points |
| FGA | Field Goal Attempt | |
| FGM | Field Goal Made | |
| FG% | Field Goal Percentage | FGM divided by FGA |
| | Flagrant foul | A foul resulting from unnecessary and/or excessive contact, also a type of technical foul |
| FL | Foul | A foul occurs when an official is forced to pause the game due to illegal physical contact |
| FA | Free Agent | A player who is not under contract to any team and has not officially retired. |
| FT | Free Throw | |
| FTA | Free Throw Attempt | Each time a player goes to the line and tries to make a FT |
| FTM | Free Throw Made | |
| FT% | Free Throw Percentage | FTM divided by FTA |
| | Frontcourt | A term used to describe the collective of the SF, PF, and C positions |
| | Glass | The backboard |
| | Goaltending | When a player blocks a shot while the ball is on its downward motion towards the rim |
| | High post | The area around the free throw circle |
| | Illegal Defense | When two players on defense guard an offensive player who does not have the ball |
| | Jump ball | At the beginning of the game or on a tied ball, the referee stops play to throw the ball upward, and the two players jump to tip to their own team |
| | Jump Shot | When a player shoots the ball from the field |
| | Lane | The painted area between the baseline and free throw line |
| | Lay-up | When a player runs up to the basket and flips the ball into it, either directly or off the backboard |
| | Loose ball foul | A foul committed on a player who does not have possession of the ball |
| | Low post | Anywhere near or close to the basket; typically used in reference the the paint |
| | Luxury Tax | When a team's collective player salaries exceeds the league-designated maximum (salary cap), this penalty/fee must be paid to the NBA |
| Min | Minutes | Measure of how many minutes of game time a player participates in a game |
| MPG | Minutes-per-game | Measure of the average number of minutes a player has participated in to date |
| O-Reb | Offensive Rebound | When a player on offense rebounds the ball |
| | Offseason | The period of time between the end of the playoffs and the first game of the regular NBA season (June - October) |
| | Outlet pass | A pass thrown down court to a teammate after a rebound, usually to start a fast break |
| | Over the limit | Once a team exceeds a pre-specified number of fouls, they are "over the limit" and in the penalty, resulting in free throws for the other team on each subsequent foul |
| OT | Overtime | When a game ends regulation in a tie, an extra five minute overtime period occurs. Consecutive OTs happen when the first OT ends in a tie, and continue until a victor emerges. |
| | Paint | The painted area between the baseline and free throw line |
| | Penalty situation | Once a team goes over the limit, they are in the penalty situation |
| PF | Personal foul | See Foul |
| | Pick | A stationary position that a player sets to free a teammate up from a defender, by blocking the defender's path to the offensive player |
| | Pick-and-roll | A play where an offensive player sets a pick, then moves toward the basket and receives a lead pass from the teammate who was freed up by the initial pick |
| PER | Player Efficiency Rating | A rating of a player's per minute productivity |
| +/- | Plus-Minus Ratio | Refers to net team points while a specific player is in game |
| Pts | Points | |
| PPG | Points-per-game | Measure of a players average points scored through all games to date |
| | Post | See Low Post |
| | Press | To guard a offensive player very closely, no matter where on the court the two players are |
| | Pump fake | A move where an offensive player fakes a shot hoping to fool the defender into getting out of position, freeing up the offensive player to score more easily in some other manner |
| REB | Rebound | To grab and gain possession of a missed shot or a missed shot that is picked up |
| BS | Rejection | Blocked Shot |
| RFA | Restricted Free Agent | Status of a player who is still under contract with a team, but who is free to accept qualifying offers from other teams. The team owning the original contract has the right to match any qualifying offer said player receives. |
| | Rock | Another word for the ball itself |
| | Rookie | First year player |
| | Salary Cap | The maximum amount an NBA team may pay in salaries during a season without having to pay the Luxury Tax |
| | Screen | Another word for pick |
| | Shot clock | Once a team has possession of the ball, the 24-second shot clock begins. The team must have a shot hit the rim within those 24 seconds or they will automatically turn over the ball to the defending team. |
| | Sixth man | A team's primary bench player or the first bench player to enter the game |
| | Steal | To take possession of the ball away from the opposing team |
| | Technical foul | The penalty for illegal conduct (may or may not be related to gameplay). Could be bad language, fighting, flagrant fouls, etc. |
| 3PT | Three-pointer | A made shot from behind the three-point line, resulting in three points rewarded to the player's team |
| | Three-second violation | When a player stands in the lane/paint for more than three seconds. The first offense results in a warning, while subsequent offenses result in a team technical foul |
| | Trailer | An offensive player coming up the court behind the frontrunners on a fast break |
| | Transition | The change from offense to defense (or vice versa) |
| | Traveling | Taking too many steps without dribbling the ball |
| | Triangle Offense | The name of the famous Laker offensive strategy, where the ball is worked between three key players on the same side of the floor until an opening in the defense emerges |
| | Triple-double | A rare achievement in which a player posts double figure numbers in three statistical categories |
| TS% | True Shooting % | Ratio that takes shooting percentage into account when free throw and three point shooting percentages are added into the equation |
| TO | Turnover | Loss of the ball |
| | Weak side | The side of the court away from the ball handler |
| | Zone | A defensive strategy in which players guard areas of the court rather than guarding one particular player on each possession |
