About this puzzle
This list reads like a game broadcast: the point guard brings the ball up, a crossover shakes a defender, a pick and roll opens the lane, and a buzzer beater wins it. Alongside the plays you'll find the basics every young player learns first (dribble, layup, rebound, free throw) and a nod to the man who started it all in 1891, James Naismith.
Youth coaches use it for team parties and rainy-day practices, teachers bring it out during March tournament season, and it is a good companion for any family that argues over brackets. The notes explain rules that confuse new fans, like why a traveling call happens or how many fouls send a player to the bench for good.
The 28 words in this puzzle
Every word, with a short note. Handy for teaching the vocabulary before or after solving.
In every version (12)
- Court
- An NBA court is 94 feet long and 50 feet wide. Most indoor courts have polished hardwood floors, usually made of maple.
- Dribble
- Dribbling means bouncing the ball with one hand while moving. Stopping and then starting to dribble again is a violation known as a double dribble.
- Foul
- A foul is illegal physical contact. In the NBA, a player fouls out after six personal fouls; in college and high school games, the limit is five.
- Free Throw
- Free throws are unguarded shots worth one point each, taken from a line 15 feet from the backboard. They are usually awarded after a shooting foul.
- Hoop
- A regulation basketball rim sits exactly 10 feet above the floor and measures 18 inches across, wide enough to fit nearly two balls side by side.
- Layup
- A layup is a close-range shot, usually banked softly off the backboard with one hand while moving toward the basket. It is often the first shot young players practice.
- Net
- The net hangs below the rim and slows the ball as it drops through, so everyone can see the shot went in. A shot that touches only net is called a swish.
- Pass
- Passing moves the ball faster than dribbling. Common passes include the chest pass, the bounce pass, and the overhead pass.
- Rebound
- A rebound is grabbing the ball after a missed shot. Offensive rebounds give a team a second chance to score, which is why coaches preach boxing out.
- Referee
- Referees enforce the rules, calling fouls and violations with whistles and hand signals. NBA games use three referees on the court.
- Slam Dunk
- College basketball banned the dunk from 1967 to 1976. Many fans believed the rule was aimed at dominant center Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
- Sneakers
- Basketball shoes are built with ankle support and grippy soles for quick stops and cuts. Converse released its All Star basketball shoe in 1917.
Added in Medium and Hard (8)
- Assist
- An assist is credited to the player whose pass leads directly to a teammate's basket. Point guards typically lead their teams in assists.
- Backboard
- Backboards were added in the game's early years partly to stop fans in balconies from reaching out and deflecting shots. Today they are usually made of tempered glass.
- Center
- The center is usually the tallest player on the floor. Centers protect the rim on defense, grab rebounds, and often take the opening jump ball.
- Forward
- Forwards play near the basket and on the wings. Small forwards are often versatile scorers, while power forwards battle for rebounds close to the hoop.
- Jump Shot
- A jump shot is released at the top of a player's jump, making it harder to block. It spread through the game in the 1930s and 1940s and changed how basketball was played.
- Point Guard
- The point guard brings the ball up the court and runs the offense, which is why the position is nicknamed the floor general. Passing and court vision matter most.
- Timeout
- A timeout stops the clock so a coach can talk strategy with the team. Teams get a limited number of timeouts per game, so coaches save them for key moments.
- Traveling
- Traveling is moving with the ball without dribbling, usually by taking too many steps. The penalty is losing possession to the other team.
Added in Hard (8)
- Alley Oop
- An alley oop is a pass lobbed near the rim that a teammate catches in midair and dunks or lays in. The name comes from the French cry allez hop.
- Buzzer Beater
- A buzzer beater is a shot released before time expires that goes in after the buzzer sounds. If the ball left the shooter's hands in time, the basket counts.
- Crossover
- A crossover is a quick dribble from one hand to the other to change direction and shake a defender. Allen Iverson made it one of the most famous moves in the game.
- Naismith
- James Naismith invented basketball in 1891 at a YMCA training school in Springfield, Massachusetts, looking for an indoor game to keep students active through winter.
- Overtime
- If a game is tied at the end of regulation, the teams play overtime. In the NBA, each overtime period lasts five minutes, and more are added until someone wins.
- Pick and Roll
- In a pick and roll, one player sets a screen for the ball handler, then rolls toward the basket for a pass. It is one of the most common plays in the game.
- Shot Clock
- The NBA introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954 to stop teams from stalling. The idea came from Danny Biasone, owner of the Syracuse Nationals.
- Three Pointer
- The NBA adopted the three-point line for the 1979 to 1980 season, and college basketball followed nationwide in 1986. The long-range shot has reshaped modern offenses.
A few facts to share while you solve
- The first basketball games used peach baskets with closed bottoms, so someone had to retrieve the ball by hand after every made shot.
- James Naismith's original game had just 13 rules. Several of them, including no running with the ball, are still part of basketball today.
- Basketball became an Olympic sport at the 1936 Berlin Games, where the final was played outdoors on a court of clay and sand that rain turned to mud.
Four versions of this puzzle
Pick a version with the buttons above the grid. Each one has its own grid and answer key, and your progress on each is saved separately in this browser.
| Version | Words | Grid | Directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 12 | 11 × 11 | The 12 most familiar words, reading forward across and down. |
| Medium | 20 | 14 × 14 | Twenty words across, down and diagonally. No backwards words. |
| Hard | 28 | 16 × 16 | Every word, in all eight directions including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. |
| Large print | 12 | 10 × 10 | The 12 most familiar words on a small grid with big letters. No backwards words. |
Hard and large print versions
Hard basketball word search: all 28 words on a 16 × 16 grid, hidden forward, backward, up, down and along both diagonals, with filler letters borrowed from the word list. Print it without the word list for an extra challenge. Play the hard version, or see all hard word searches.
Large print basketball word search: the 12 most familiar words on a 10 × 10 grid, printed with big letters and a big word list, and no backwards words. Play the large print version, or see all large print word searches.
Printing this word search
Press Print / PDF above the puzzle. You get a clean one-page sheet with the title, the grid, a word list with tick boxes, and optional name and date lines. The answer key prints on a second page. Prefer a file? Download it as a PDF or an image to print later or drop into a worksheet. Whatever version is showing on screen is the one that prints, and the large print version prints with bigger letters.
How to play online
- Find a word from the list in the grid. Scanning for its first letter is the quickest way.
- Drag across the word from its first letter to its last. On a phone, you can also tap the first letter, then the last.
- Found words get highlighted and crossed off. Stuck? Hint circles the first letter of a word you haven’t found.
Read the full guide to solving word searches, with tips that make big grids much faster.
Questions and answers
Who invented basketball?
Basketball was invented in December 1891 by James Naismith, a physical education instructor at a YMCA training school in Springfield, Massachusetts. He nailed two peach baskets to a balcony railing and wrote 13 rules. His name is one of the words in this puzzle, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is named after him.
Is this basketball word search good for a youth team party?
Yes. Players will recognize terms from practice, like dribble, rebound, and layup, and the trickier ones such as pick and roll make a good conversation starter about plays. Coaches sometimes hand it out at end-of-season gatherings along with trophies and pizza.
Is there an answer key for this basketball word search?
Yes. Choose Print / PDF above the puzzle and keep “Add an answer key page” ticked. The key prints on its own page, with every word highlighted. While playing online, Show answers outlines any words you haven’t found yet.
Can I print copies for my class or group?
Yes. Every puzzle on BetterWordSearch is free to print for personal, classroom, library and homeschool use. Print as many copies as you need. To change the words or make several different versions of the grid, use the word search maker.
What changes between Easy, Medium, Hard and Large print?
Easy hides the 12 most familiar words, reading left to right and top to bottom. Medium uses 20 words and adds diagonals. Hard hides all 28 words in every direction, including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. Large print uses the same words as Easy on a small grid and prints with big letters.
