Basketball vocabulary in Spanish

1. INTRODUCTION

Below you can find a small compilation of basketball vocabulary in Spanish (name of the positions of the players, actions, fouls, parts of the court and others).

I hope you find it useful. 💪🏀

2. BASKETBALL VOCABULARY IN SPANISH

2.1. Positions

• Point Guard / playmaker: base.
• Shooting Guard / Small forward: escolta.
• Forward: alero.
• Power foward: ala pívot.
• Center / Pivot: pívot.

2.2. Actions

• Shoot: tiro o lanzamiento (noun) / tirar o lanzar (verb).
• Dribble: bote (noun) / botar (verb).
• Pass: pase (noun) / pasar (verb).
• Assist / dime: asistencia (noun) / asistir (verb).
• Layup: entrada a canasta.
• Dunk: mate (noun) / matar o machacar (verb).
• Rebound: rebote (noun) / rebotear (verb).
• Pick / screen: bloqueo (noun) / bloquear (verb).
• Fake: finta (noun) / fintar (verb).
• Cut: corte (noun) / cortar (verb).
• Steal: robo (noun) / robar (verb).
• Block: bloqueo (noun) / bloquear (verb).
• Free throw: tiro libre.
• Field shot: tiro de campo.
• Three-point field goal / 3-pointer: triple.
• Air ball: tirar sin tocar aro. (*) We also say air ball in spanish.
• Floater: bomba.

2.3. Fouls

• Foul: falta.
• Traveling / walking / steps: pasos.
• Double dribble: dobles.
• Backcourt violation: campo atrás.
• Turnover: pérdida de balón.
• Offensive foul: falta de ataque.

2.4. Parts of the court

• Basket: canasta.
• Backboard: tablero.
• Rim: aro.
• Court: pista.
• Bench: banquillo.
• Foul line / Free-throw line: línea de tiro libre.
• Half-court line / Mid-court line: línea de medio campo.
• The paint: la pintura / la zona.

2.5. Others

• Timeout: tiempo muerto.
• Overtime: prórroga.
• Referee: árbitro.
• Score / scorer: marcador.

3. ANY DOUBT?

If you want to know any other term that is not above, leave a comment and I will add it. 😉

4. REFERENCES

I am a native Spanish speaker (from Spain) and I have played basketball in the UK and the US.