How to Call a Basketball Game Part II: Finding the Words
Here are almost 1,500 words to use during your next basketball call
We’ve all struggled to find the right word in life. If you’re anything like me, it happens multiple times a day, and the more stress I feel in the moment or the more I’m distracted by my emotions, the harder it gets to be precise with my language.
Obviously, being a play-by-play broadcaster not only necessitates finding the right words in stressful situations, but doing it over and over and over again for hours at a time.
As is the case for the athletes we cover, when you’re under pressure, you won’t rise to the moment; you’ll fall to the level of your training, practice and experience. So it’s crucial to work on your vocabulary as a part of your broadcast preparation, not just before a game, but as a part of your daily life, especially during the off-season.
While I’ll never be able to put together an exhaustive list of all the different words you can and should use in a given situation, I can at least provide you with some valuable resources, and today’s post is all about that.
I’ve got over 1,000 words below to consider using during your next basketball broadcast, but before we get to that, remember this: the point of having a deep vocabulary isn’t so you can look smart or talk over your audience’s head. It’s so you can find the right word at the right moment with confidence, so you can describe similar situations over and over again without getting repetitive and so you can paint the most accurate picture possible.
Without further ado, let’s get to a couple other word wheels I found online, along with a list of basketball synonyms I’ve kept for myself over the years.