Basketball is a game of sheer athleticism and the best talent at the display. It is a game enjoyed by fans very fondly and their enthusiasm for the game sometimes can turn them against some players who may be having a bad night.
Sometimes the most talented and skilled players can end up making shots that don’t score rather hurt the team.
If the players from your favorite team don’t perform as well as you would like them to, they will quickly land on your bad list and you can write them off.
However, these things can happen to the best of us and to write off exceptional players may not be a good idea. Sometimes players are unable to balance or coordinate their hand and eye movement and throw the ball through the hoop.
Instead what happens is that the ball hits the backboard or the rim and falls. In these instances, fans have decided to name these shots as bricks, ones that hit the backboard and or miss the rim completely.
And when a player makes these shots several times in one evening then they are labeled as the “brick layer”. Which cannot be justified based on one game’s performance.
Regardless these are the labels used commonly when talking about players who miss the rim or hit the backboard. So what is all the brick naming fuss about? And what does the brick actually mean?
What does a brick mean in basketball?
What is the brick?
Missing the shot once or twice is no big deal, it happens all the time. In a game where the main aim is to shoot for the hoop, you are bound to miss a couple of shots.
But why is it that this particular kind of shot has been named the brick? Well, the brick is actually when the shot was so far off the goal that it completely missed the rim or it made a loud clank noise when it hit the board.
When this scenario happens repeated during one game by one particular player, people start calling that player the brick layer. Missing shots continuously and shooting bricks can be harmful to your team. Hence it’s understandable to see the fans get agitated by their favorite players not performing the best.
There are several players in history, who have had a good field goal percentage and have also had a high foul shot percentage. Shaquille O’Neal is one of those players. His field goal percentage was almost 59% with 16 shots per game on average.
However, his foul shot percentage was 52.7%. This shows that even the best of the best players can often find themselves in a pickle when their luck isn’t just helping them out and all their shots are being missed.
Origin of brick meaning in Basketball
There is not enough information about the origin of the term. One thing, however, is certain that amongst the basketball enthusiasts everyone understands the meaning of the term brick. And when it is used everyone in the room knows what is being talked about.
Now let’s look at some of the brick layers halls of fame:
Brick layers; Hall of fame:
Here are some of the top best brick layers who have made history in this category. Although this may not seem the best it is notable, so here are our top picks for the bricklayers’ hall of fame:
Ben Wallace:
Ben Wallace, a perfect all-rounder yet one to be labeled as one of the worst ever statistical throw shooters.
The worst part of this whole scenario is that Wallace had shots from an unguarded standpoint, shooting 15 footers that most professional NBA players do without any hassle, Wallace failed to deliver those beautiful shots.
And thus became the worst throw shooter ever. His average of 41.4% shoots from a free throw line is what has landed him the label of the brick layer.
Regardless his stats show another story as he could have been the NBA champion in 2004 had he won two more rebounding titles, he also landed the All NBA teams 5 times and won the title of defensive player 4 times.
Chris Dudley:
Chris Dudley, the name that most commonly goes by as the worst throw shooter ever. For good reason as well, since his free throw percentage was 40% and in another year it was at a lowest 30%.
You must be wondering how he even get chosen for the team. The answer to that is simple, Chris Dudley’s selection was based on his size, hustle, and toughness. He never won any individual accolades either. He just got by due to his size and form.
Shaquille O’Neal:
Shaquille O’Neal, the most leading player in all of NBA, with an impressive record is also among the brick layers list. His stats however are tremendous as he has four NBA titles, 15 all-stars, an NBA MVP, and 14 all NBA teams.
Despite that his shooting average was 52% with a shooting rate of 10 shots per game. Most of his shots were from the foul line and that is the reason the average is better, if the shots were not from a foul line he wouldn’t even have the numbers he has in the bag right now.
What Does A Brick Mean in Basketball?: Final Words
We did our best to explain the use of the word bricks and brick layers in the basketball world. Hope it helped you understand what it means and what it stands for.
Furthermore, we looked at the hall of fame for people who are known as the worst brick layers in the history of the game. It is not a good thing to be known for the worst thing in the game for anyone.
But also it reflects badly in your resume. Nevertheless, these players have made history and some may have had a few bad throws but all around they were amazing at the game and made us proud.