OED gives this:

to pull up ... 7. intr. Basketball. To lift the ball to a position near or above the head in preparation for a throw, esp. a jump shot

Do those who know at least a bit about basketball think this is correct?

I would have thought that it meant only that you stopped driving toward the basket. You can pull up without relinquishing your dribble.

It is almost always said as "A pull-up jumper", as in, you stop moving forward, lift the ball up as jumping, and shoot. You could say it involves pulling up and then a jump-shot. The OED definition would not be correct, but for different reasons than you suggest.

I watch basketball a lot, and that OED definition sounds correct. I do think you relinquish the dribble when you "pull up."

I can't claim any depth of basketball knowledge, but surely a player must "pull-up" (stop) when shooting? If he were to carry on moving wouldn't it be a travelling violation?

In a layup, you jump while picking up your dribble. There are a variety of other shots where you jump forward while shooting.

quote:

In a layup, you jump while picking up your dribble.

Sounds very messy to me. I do recall our sons both did something like this when they were babies and learning to feed themselves.

dribble

quote:

3 (in sport) take (the ball) forward with slight touches or (in basketball) by continuous bouncing.

• noun [...] 2 (in sport) an act of dribbling.

[...]

— ORIGIN originally in sense shoot an arrow short or wide of its target: from obsolete drib, variant of DRIP.

From the Compact Oxford English Dictionary.

Interesting to note that it was originally a term from archery and not from the nursery.

quote:

In a layup, you jump while picking up your dribble.

But, Sean, surely Arnie is right that you can't walk after relinquishing your dribble. You are correct that you can jump for a layup, but that might be misleading because that jump is about all you can do. On the other hand, Patrick Ewing, who used to be with the NY Knicks, and Karl Malone, who used to be with the Utah Jazz, were notorious for getting away with traveling.

I have been searching basketball dictionaries and glossaries online, and so far I have found none that define "pulling up." I wonder why that is.

z, that original 1565 definition of "dribbling" was fascinating.

After you stop your dribble, you get like a step and a half to complete your shot.

I suspect "pulling up" is akin to pulling up on the reins to stop a horse. A basketball player leading a fast break can note that the defense has gotten back or that the clock is on his side and can pull up, though he does not pick up his dribble. A pull-up jump shot is more about faking or stopping a drive to the hoop and then pulling up short for the jumper instead while you have the defense on their heels rather than having anything to do with pulling the ball up over your head.

quote:

After you stop your dribble, you get like a step and a half to complete your shot.

In college basketball that is true. In the NBA, you get 2 steps, although they often get away with a step more.

quote:

But, Sean, surely Arnie is right that you can't walk after relinquishing your dribble.

As long as you aren't holding the ball while taking a step, it isn't traveling. The key to a pull-up jumper is to pull-up right about the point where the ball hits the ground. Then as the ball comes up into your hand, you are jumping to take the shot.

Okay, Shu explained to me tonight why that OED definition is wrong. He says, and I agree, that pulling up does not refer to lifting the ball up in a position near or above the head in preparation for a throw...or any basket making move would be pulling up. Sean is correct that it's almost always referred to as "pull-up jumper," which means, as he said, that you stop moving forward, and then you take a jump shot. But the pulling up has nothing to do with lifting the ball up, does it?

Yep. You guys have it right. "Pull up" simply means stopping your forward motion, as in "the train pulls up to the station," and it has no special meaning in basketball.

A player coming downcourt can "pull up" (stop short) at the foul line. (This is without regard to his dribbling: after he pulls up he might pick up his dribble, or continue a dribbling in place. In fact, he might not have been dribbling at all: a man running withouht the ball can also "pull up" at the foul line.)

Perhaps OED was confused by the phrase "pull up jump shot," but "pull up" has nothing to do with "pulling the ball up over your head." (If it did, every jump shot would be a pull-up jumper, because every jump shot is shot with the ball over the head.) A pull up jumper is simply one where the player, who has been dribbling toward the basket, stops suddenly -- pulls up -- and (before his defender can react) shoots. Contrast the catch-and-shoot jumper: a player, moving without the ball, breaks free (as by a screen), receives a pass and immediately shoots before his defender can catch up.

Those are the only kinds of jump shots I can think of that have a special name (unless you count kick-out jumper.)

quote: surely a player must "pull-up" (stop) when shooting? If he were to carry on moving wouldn't it be a travelling violation?.

Well, obviously he needn't stop if he hasn't been moving with the ball in the first place! He receives the ball by a pass or rebound, and shoots (perhaps after some stationary fakes), without ever dribbling.

Also, the traveling violation occurs when, having the ball but not dribbling, you move both feet to new positions on the floor. One foot may move freely, as long as the other stays in place. And having moved one, the other foot may move in the air; "travelling" doesn't occur until the second foot hits the floor again.

So for example: a player dribbles fast toward the basket. As he takes a step with his left foot (his right is off the ground) he grabs the ball in both hands, ending his dribble. He continues forward, planting his left foot (if he hasn't done so already), then his right, and then jumps off that right foot. Still no travel committed, until one foot or the other returns to the floor. Until then he can hold off getting rid of the ball as his body continues to fly forward.

Although what I said in the last paragraph is correct, I mis-stated the rule. (Under my statement, one could catch the ball while standing on one foot, and then hop down the floor on that foot, carrying the ball.)

Basically the rule is his: While holding the ball without dribbling, one foot may move freely. You may pivot around the other (the "pivot foot") without lifting or sliding moving it. But once you lift the pivot foot, you must get rid of the ball before it touches down again. And once you lift the pivot foot, the non-pivot foot is in the same position -- it may swivel, but may not move on the floor (and, if it too leaves the floor, may not touch down again) while you still hold the ball.

Which foot is the pivot foot? Depends: did you catch the ball:
A. with one foot off the ground (or both aloft, but one lands before the other)? Then that's your non-pivot foot.
B. with both feet on the ground (or both aloft, landing simultaneously)? Then as whichever you move first is your non-pivot foot.

You also have:

Fall-away jumper: A jump shot where you are actually jumping backwards away from the hoop as you shoot in an effort to either gain space between you and the defender, and/or to "soften" the shot (put more backspin on it).

Leaping leaner: A jump shot where you lean into the defender with your opposite shoulder as you attempt or prepare for the shot.

Teardrop: A shorter shot that is arched higher than normal in an effort to avoid the ball being blocked by a defender.