airball

noun

1. A shot that misses the backboard, rim and net entirely.

   “As soon as the shot left his hands, the spectators could see it was going to be an airball.”

   “Johnson also could have tied the game, at 66-66 with 14 seconds left. But his jump shot was an airball. From that scramble Lopez emerged with the first of his key foul shots.”

   “Bryant’s path to becoming a champion, after all, began with a series of infamous misses: his playoff airballs as a rookie against Utah. Clarkson sees those airballs as a metaphor for Bryant’s clunky start against the Jazz two decades later.”

2. (slang)An unfunny joke or remark.

verb

1. (transitive)To throw an airball.

   “Tatum struggled with fatigue through the final two rounds of the postseason and was exhausted to the point he was airballing shots by the time the Warriors were closing out the championship.”

   “The Timberwolves lost 128-125 when KAT airballed a falling 30-footer at the buzzer.”

2. (slang)To make an awfully unfunny joke or remark.