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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

above the rim en · ADP

Meanings

  1. [handing the ball] higher than the rim of the basket (such as during a slam dunk or alley oop)
    • The same male-centric phenomenon takes place in basketball, where the “standard” version of the game is played above the rim while the “watered-down” female version is played below the rim (and with a smaller ball). 2017, Rick Eckstein, How College Athletics Are Hurting Girls' Sports: The Pay-to-Play Pipeline, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 149:
    • Whereas Erving made his impact above the rim Curry is expanding what we never thought was expandable - the jump shot. 2021 December 13, Bob Padecky, “Stephen Curry has made jump shot an art form”, in The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, California:
    • Basketball went from a game of set shots and long jumpers to a game played above the rim, characterized by earth-shattering dunks. 2003, Walter M. Kimbrough, Black Greek 101: The Culture, Customs, and Challenges of Black Fraternities and Sororities, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, →ISBN, page 111:
  2. (Canada, US, figuratively) at a high level of excellence
    • Who can tell the fabric of state government stories better? Who can tell those fabric stories first? And who can do what I call playing above the rim, which is you're in such close contact with legislators and state officials that you can stay ahead of the news. 2004 Eileen N. Gilligan, Competing for News: Reporter's Use of Competition and Cooperation in the Production of News (Thesis, University of Wisconsin–Madison) p. 122
    • I believe in playing above the rim on the court, and in my career. 1995 June, Lloyd Ward, quoted in Lloyd Gite, "Playing Above the Rim" Black Enterprise p. 214
    • 2021 February 16, Shawn Jefferson, quoted in Darren Urban, "Shawn Jefferson's Padded Resumé For Coaching Receivers" azcardinals.com Jefferson, who once coached new Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson in Detroit, said DeAndre Hopkins is "probably the only one in the league I can compare to Calvin right now, has the skillset Calvin had, playing above the rim and in those competitive situations coming down with the ball."