Dropping Dimes
Making difficult passes for assists in basketball
Example
Nash is dropping dimes all over the court tonight
He is locked in!
Curry dropping dimes
Related Slang
| Dime | Assist |
| A | Assists |
| j | Jump shot |
| Alley oop | A pass to a teammate who puts the ball in the basket |
| And one | A play where a player is fouled while making a basket |
| Ballin | Playing sports well |
| Charity stripe | Free throw line |
| Get buckets | To dominate |
| Hoops | Basketball |
| NBA | National Basketball Association |
Can you survive our Dungeons & Dragons slang quiz?
A basketball player is "dropping dimes" when they make challenging or beautiful passes to teammates who then score. For example, Steph Curry drops dimes when he makes no-look passes behind his back to teammates who then score.
Where did dropping dimes come from?
It is unclear who coined the phrase, but it became popular in the 2000s among NBA players and fans. The most prominent theory is that the phrase comes from the "olden days" when pay phones required a dime to use them.
And if you needed to make a call but didn't have a dime on you, a kind friend or stranger may drop you a dime to help you out. Basketball fans and players apply that same Good Samaritan assistance to the assistance a player shows when passing the ball to a teammate for a score (an assist in basketball statistics).