Spanish Words & Phrases for Kids Playing Basketball

Are your kids fans of watching basketball games? Or are they part of their school basketball team? Awesome! Sport is a great way for kids to learn many things, like teamwork and discipline. But did you know that they can also learn Spanish through sports? That’s right, your kids could pick up a very required skill in today’s world by playing basketball. But you may be wondering how?

Lucky for you, we have the perfect guide of Spanish words and phrases for kids playing basketball to learn a new language. Even if they already know a bit of Spanish, they’ll improve their skills with this guide.

Let us show you that Spanish and sports can complement each other and make language practice time more fun.

Spanish Basketball Vocabulary

1. Basketball – Baloncesto / Básquetbol / Básquet
2. Ball – Pelota
3. Backboard – Tablero
4. Basket – Canasta / Cesto
5. Hoop – Aro
6. Basketball rim – Llanta de baloncesto
7. Net – Red
8. Basketball player – Jugador de baloncesto
9. Court – Cancha / Pista
10. Marker – Marcador
11. Team / Teams – Equipo / Equipos
12. Teammate – Jugador de equipo
13. Referee – Árbitro
14. Game / Match – Juego
15. To bounce – Rebotar
16. Draft – Draft
17. International Basketball Federation – Federación Internacional de Baloncesto
18. National Basketball Association (NBA) – NBA
19. Game clock – Reloj
20. Baseline / End line – Línea de fondo
21. Free throw line – Línea de tiro libre
22. Three-point line – Línea de tres puntos
23. Midcourt line / Central line – Línea central
24. Side line – Línea lateral
25. Centerfield – Centro de la pista
26. Free throw circle – Área de tiro libre
27. Restricted area arc – Área restringida
28. Ball side – Lado del balón
29. Frontcourt – Pista de ataque
30. Backcourt – Pista defensiva
31. The bench – La banca
32. Foul – Falta
33. Violation – Infracción
34. Pass – Pase
35. Shots – Tiros
36. Timeout – Tiempo fuera
37. Free throw – Tiro libre
38. Coach – Entrenador
39. Table officials – Oficiales de mesa
40. Score – Puntuación
41. Tie – Empate
42. Assists – Asistencias
43. Block – Bloqueo
44. To shoot – Lanzar
45. To catch – Atrapar
46. MVP Most Valuable Player – MVP / Jugador más valioso
47. Sixth man – Sexto hombre

Basketball Positions in Spanish

It’s important your kids know the Spanish names for each position of the players. So when it’s their time to play and their coach tells them in Spanish which position they’ll be in, they’ll know what they have to do.

In total, there are five main positions:

• Point guard / Playmaker – Base
• Shooting guard – Escolta
• Small Forward – Alero
• Power forward – Ala-pivot
• Center – Pivot

There also exist four hybrid positions:

• Combo guard – Combo guard / Guardia combinado
• Swingman – Swingman
• Point Forward – Delantero
• Stretch four – Stretch four / Tramo cuatro

Types of Basketball Passes in Spanish

There are seven main passes in basketball all kids must know:

• Chest pass – Pase de pecho
• Bounce pass – Pase picado
• Overhead pass – Pase por encima de la cabeza
• Behind the back pass – Pase por detrás de la espalda / Pase de faja
• Baseball pass – Pase de béisbol / Pase sobre el hombro
• No look pass / Blind pass – Pase sin mirar / Pase ciego
• Handoff – Pase mano a mano / Pase en mano / Pase al toque

12 Spanish Questions in Spanish to Start a Conversation About Baloncesto

If you want to encourage your kids to start using their newly acquired basketball vocabulary, ask them questions in Spanish. They can also use some of these questions to ask their classmates or neighbors and start making friends with the same interests.

1. ¿Te gusta el baloncesto? / Do you like basketball?
2. ¿Te gustaría jugar basketball? / Would you like to play basketball?
3. ¿Quieres que te inscriba a clases de básquetbol? / Do you want me to sign you up for basketball classes?
4. Dime, ¿por qué te gusta tanto el básquetbol? / Tell me, why do you like basketball so much?
5. ¿Qué hace un jugador base? / What does a point guard do?
6. ¿Cuál es tu jugador favorito? / What’s your favorite player?
7. ¿Ganaron el partido de básquet? / Did you win the basketball game?
8. ¿Quién quieres que gane el partido de básquetbol? / Who do you want to win the basketball game?
9. ¿Quién crees que gane la Copa Mundial de Baloncesto? / Who do you think will win the Basketball World Cup?
10. ¿Quién crees que es el mejor jugador de la NBA en la actualidad? / Who do you think is the best player of the NBA currently?
11. ¿Quieres ver el partido de baloncesto conmigo? / Do you want to watch the basketball game with me?
12. Yo creo que LeBron James es el mejor jugador en la historia del básquetbol, ¿y tú? / I think LeBron James is the best player in basketball history, and you?

12 Spanish Phrases about Basketball

Here are some phrases in Spanish about Basketball that children can use during a conversation with their friends. They can also use some of this to answer some of the questions above. You’ll notice that these phrases have some words of the vocabulary we taught above. This way they can practice it.

1. Amo el básquetbol, es mi deporte favorito. / I love basketball; it’s my favorite sport!
2. ¡Ven, vamos a jugar básquet! / Come on, let’s go play basketball!
3. Mi jugador de baloncesto favorito es Stephen Curry. / My favorite basketball player is Stephen Curry.
4. Mi equipo de básquetbol favorito son los Lakers. / My favorite basketball team is The Lakers.
5. Mamá, ¿qué crees? ¡Anoté tres puntos en el juego de básquet de hoy! / Mom, guess what? I scored three points at today’s basketball match!
6. ¡Mike hizo/anotó dos canastas hoy! / Mike made/scored two baskets today!
7. ¡Agh, falló la canasta! / Ugh, he missed the basket!
8. ¡Wow! Ese fue un buen tiro libre. / Wow! That was a good free throw.
9. Él es por mucho el mejor jugador de la NBA. / He’s by far the best NBA player.
10. Pa, hay que celebrar. ¡Soy el MVP/jugador más valioso del equipo! / Dad, we have to celebrate. I am the MVP of the team!
11. Estamos aprendiendo a cómo hacer pases de béisbol. / We’re learning how to do baseball passes.
12. ¡Esa fue una falta, entrenador! / That was a fault, coach!

How to Help Your Kids Learn Spanish Through Basketball

Start a conversation
In order for kids to love learning Spanish and acquire the language naturally, they must practice it through something they love. So, starting a conversation about their favorite sport is a great idea. They love sharing their passion for it and they’ll feel seen and heard by you if you ask them about it. It will be a great language practice time, but also a beautiful moment to connect with them.

How can you do it? The questions above are very useful for parents to ask their kids and, therefore, start a conversation on basketball. Ask your favorite or the one you feel like they will be most excited to answer. Once they answer, you can ask another question of the ones we suggest.

Or you could ask one that’s about what they just told you, so the conversation goes fluently and seems casual. Preferably, ask in Spanish, so they feel encouraged to keep talking the language.

Play basketball!
I mean, what’s better than learning Spanish by playing the game of the vocabulary they’re trying to learn? Nothing! Playing is always a really cool way to learn. Children won’t even notice they’re learning. It won’t feel like a boring class.

Just make the rule of speaking Spanish throughout the game. Depending on your kids’ level, they should speak in Spanish the whole game, or just use some vocabulary every now and then. Whatever the case, they’ll be forced to practice the words and phrases above, but won’t feel like a horrible obligation.

We highly recommend you play with them. The whole family will have tons of fun.

Show support in Spanish
We know how much parents love to support their kids in basketball matches by screaming and applauding. That’s awesome! Kids feel the love. So, If your children go to basketball classes, already have a team and there’s a game coming up, go and scream in Spanish.

You could say common and simple phrases like “¡vamos!” (let’s go). But we recommend adding some phrases that involve one of the words above, like: “¡Ese pase estuvo increíble!” (that pass was amazing). Or, “¡Venga, haz un pase de pecho!” (common, do a chest pass!). Whatever thing you want to say that has a basketball related word in it, will work, just do it in Spanish.

Even if children can’t hear everything, because they’re focused on the game, they might hear some things. And if they hear you supporting them in Spanish, they’ll feel more comfortable talking that language themselves. After all, they love to do what their parents do.

Watch basketball videos in Spanish
Make some popcorn – or even better, some healthy and yummy snacks – and sit down with your kids to watch a basketball game in Spanish. If you don’t have a Hispanic sports channel, you could watch some on YouTube. If you prefer, you could also watch some interviews of your kids’ favorite Spanish speaker basketball players.

If they have trouble understanding, put subtitles on. Or put the video at a slower pace. As they advance on their language journey, start playing these kinds of videos without subtitles and at their normal pace. Might be hard at first, but this activity will pay off.

Children will improve their listening so much! They’ll also acquire vocabulary little by little, as they hear certain basketball words be repeated over and over again. And they’ll learn the correct pronunciation of those words. It’s the perfect activity to improve many areas of their Spanish language skills. If you watch the videos with them, you’ll also get these benefits.

Spanish Play Time with TruFluency Kids!

If you want your kids to keep learning Spanish through fun games and activities, TruFluency Kids is here for you! We’re a Spanish Immersion online school. That means that the whole environment your kids will learn in will be in Spanish, so they can acquire the language naturally.

It also means, we will organize fun activities, like singing, dancing, cooking, crafting and, of course, playing games in every lesson. So they can learn the same way they learned their mother tongue.

With our Bellieu Method they’ll be encouraged to speak in every class, so they can practice what they’ve learned. You’ll notice how much their conversational skills improve because of this. Soon, they’ll be truly fluent in Spanish.

We also care about you and your family’s tight agenda. That’s why we offer flexible schedules, so your kids can study with us whenever it suits you better.

See for yourself our fun teaching method by taking a trial class now. When you’re ready, sign your children up for our next four-week session.