Brick is a slang term used in basketball to describe a shot attempt that hits the rim or backboard and misses badly. The term is pejorative, and a player who frequently misses shots may be called a "bricklayer".
Possible origins
The origin of the term is rather ambiguous and it is unclear where the term originally comes from. Some possible origins are:
- The basketball hits the rim of the hoop and bounces off. The rim has a color similar to that of an actual brick and thus the player has shot a brick because it hits the rim and misses.
- After the player shoots the basketball, the ball falls as fast as an actual brick and thus misses horribly.
- The sound made when a basketball hits the rim at a public basketball court is often a large 'clank' which was associated with the sound a brick makes when struck.
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