Basketball Terms Spanish to English
Basketball – Baloncesto
Pass – Paso
Shot – Tiro
Foul – Falta
Free Throws – Tiros Libres
Zone – Zona
Dribble – Bota
Rebound – Rebote
Turnovers – Balones Perdido
Dunk – Mate
Wing Guard/Guard – Alero
Point Guard – Base
Center – Pivot
More coming soon!
Coach: entrenador / entrenar
Fundamentals: fundamentos
Dribble: driblar / finta
Pass: pase/ pasar
Stopping and pivoting: parar y pivotar
Shooting: tirar
Rebounding: rebotear
Boxing out: ganar la posicion en la zona
Time out: tiempo muerto
Chest pass: pase de pecho
Stay low:
Head up: cabeza alta
Protect the ball: proteger la bola
Bounce pass: tirar el pase
Overhead pass: pase por encima de la cabeza
Baseball pass: pase largo
Layup: tiro
Shooting drill:
Free throw shooting: tiro libre
Low post: poste bajo
High post: poste alto
Swingmen: hombres bajos, desde bases hasta aleros
Corner:esquina
Back-cut to layup:cortar la zona para tirar
Screen to handoff: bloqueo y pase a la mano
Give and go: dar y seguir
Pass and screen awayase y bloqueo indirecto
Pick and rollick and roll (in spanish too)
Sprint back: correr a defender
Know who you are guarding: point to your man and call our their number: saber a quien diriges, apuntar a tu hombre y decir su numero
Play your man in relation to the ball:
See the ball: ver la bola
Help stop the ball: ayudar a parar la bola
During a fast break, sprint the floor: en un contraataque, esprintar.
If a teammate is open, pass to him: si un compañero esta abierto, pasadle
If yoiu can beat your defender, drive to the rim: si puedes con tu rival, entra a canasta
Free your teammates by setting a screen: libera a tus compañeros hciendo un bloqueo
Beating the full court press: para superar la defensa de presion en todo el campo
Defending against a fast break: defender un contrataque
Defending a taller player: defender a un jugador mas alto
Defensive stance: posicion defensiva
Ball-side defence, denying the pass: no permitir el pase
Ball-side defence, help and recover:
Communicating the defense: comunicar la defensa
Team meeting: reunion de equipo
Warm-up: calentamiento
Fundamentals: fundamentos
Scrimmage: escaramuza
Inbounding the ball: mover la pelota al interior
Drive to the rim:dirigirse a la canasta
Cut to the rim: cortar hacia canasta
Alley oop pass:ally hoop
Full-court press: defensa en toda la cancha
Double team: defensa de dos contra uno
Crossover dribble: dribbling de cambio de mano
Screen: bloqueo
Zone defense: defensa en zona
Man to man defense: defensa hombre a hombre
I have a problem with “driblar” – talk about Spanglish. Also, that size ball is a “balon” (accent mark on the “o”). A “pelota” is small (baseball, golf, tennis, for example). I’ve only heard “bola” used in reference to a “crystal ball”. It would also help with verbs to put them in the infinitive form so that they can be manipulated as needed with regard to person and tense.
Tracy,
I know Spanish Basketball terms from (Spain) . not sure if some of the above driblar is straight translation or based in Latin-Spanish.
Driblar = botar normally usage in Spain as with
Pelota = balón – i was told in the past pelota was used but not anymore
Bola = its not commonly used either
Too true! Latin American terms are often anglecisms based on the English word – the further from the USA the more unique they become. Spain being in Europe has a vocab all it’s own – if you want Castillian, then say Castillian – if not usually you will get Latin American versions. The Olympic committee has a standardized list for any sport played at that level. they are closer to the Castillian.