Bucket

What does bucket mean in basketball?

A made basketball shot

In basketball, a bucket is a made shot. For example, after a player makes a shot, the announcer may remark, "Williamson with the bucket for a 10-8 lead."

The name comes from the similarity between an actual bucket and the basket (rim and net) on a hoop. Some believe that the term dates all the way back to the early years of the sport in the 1890s when basketball creator James Naismith and other players used peach baskets for the rim and net.

Buckets may be worth 2 or 3 points depending on where the player shoots the ball. Since getting buckets is a good thing, people coined the phrase get buckets to describe times when you are dominating or successful, even outside of sports.

Example

Jones is really struggling with his shot tonight
No doubt. He can't buy a bucket
Agreed - playing for the foul instead of the bucket is not good basketball
Agreed - playing for the foul instead of the bucket is not good basketball

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Updated October 26, 2022

Bucket definition by Slang.net - The Slang Dictionary

This page explains what the slang term "Bucket" means. The definition, example, and related terms listed above have been manually compiled and written by the Slang.net team.

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