Basketball like most sports has many terms or nicknames that seem to not fit with the sport. Like baseball with terms such as “can of corn” for a routine flyball. Or football with “carry the rock” for holding onto the football.
Even golf has funny terms like “shank” for a bad hit. All are fun and make sense to fans who know those sports well.
For basketball, the same goes with such terms that are outside the sport of basketball but are used for basketball plays or stats.
If you have watched or played basketball, at some points you’ve heard some say “dime” when passing the ball.
But why? Why is an assist called a dime in basketball?
An assist is called a dime in basketball because it originates from when payphones existed and costed a dime to make a phone call.
It was common for a phone call from a payphone to cost 10 cents or a dime. If someone needed to make a phone call, they would ask someone else for a dime, or to “drop a dime”.
Thus, that person giving them a dime is assisting them in making a phone call.
It seems silly to still use that term “dime” today when payphones don’t exist or are very rare.
Along with the fact that hardly anything costs just 10 cents or a dime today. That said, its origination is unique and commonly used throughout the world of basketball at every level.
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What is an assist in basketball?
The term assist is a true statistic in basketball and other sports such as hockey, soccer, lacrosse, and volleyball. In fact, they all mean the same thing. An assist in all sports refers to one player passing to another resulting in a score.
For basketball specifically, an assist is awarded to a player who passes the ball to a teammate which leads to a score or field goal. In broad terms for basketball, it’s going from A to B to C, Player passes to a teammate, teammate scores right after receiving the pass.
An assist is counted to the player who passed the ball if the player who received the ball ends up scoring a basket.
The player who received the pass can dribble before scoring and the assist would still be awarded to the player who passed it.
If the player who received the pass ends up not scoring, obviously no assist would be awarded.
The same goes if the player who received the pass ends up passing the ball and then someone else scores or not. The original passer would not be granted the assist.
For someone to receive an assist, the player who received the pass must be next to score an actual basket.
If the player who received the pass is fouled and then scores on a free throw, no assist is awarded. It must be an actual field goal, not a free throw.
In the MLB, discarded baseballs are never reused in a game. Some go through a process to get authenticated and sold in MLB shops and online as games used memorabilia.
Why does dime mean assist?
As previously mentioned, a dime means assist comes from the days of payphones. When payphones existed, it was common that a phone call costs 10 cents.
It was typical that someone didn’t always happen to have 10 cents on them.
You wouldn’t want to break cash or get a change just for a dime.
It became common for one person to ask another for assistance but asking for a dime to be able to make a phone call.
Basketball players picked up on this common term of asking for a dime for assistance.
They in turn used it as slang for an assist, since in a way, it means the same thing.
Think of it this way, I’m helping you get what you need, therefore I’m assisting you.
If you need a dime to make a phone call, I can assist you. That’s where dime comes from in basketball, from payphones.
Why is an assist called dropping dimes?
Now that we’ve covered the history of where the term dime came from, lets discuss “dropping dimes”. In the days of the payphone, someone would assist by giving you a dime. Or “Dropping” a dime for you.
But dropping a dime is more specific than just getting an assist.
If you watch or play basketball, there are many assists throughout a game.
It’s not a game of someone being a ball hog the entire time.
The term “dropping a dime” nowadays is more known to be said when someone makes a great and well-timed pass.
That’s when someone says, “they dropped a dime”, because it was such a great pass.
It could be as simple as a perfectly timed pass that leads to an immediate basket. It could also mean a cool pass like through another players legs.
Or it could mean a behind-the-back pass or long throw type pass.
Whatever the type of pass, you say “dropped a dime” when the pass was outstanding. Not just any regular ordinary easy pass.
Check out this video of hall of fame point guard Steve Nash explaining the term “Dime”.
Steve Nash is widely known as one of the great passers or “assisters” to ever play the sport of basketball.
What does throw a dime mean?
Much like dropping a dime referring to a perfectly timed pass in basketball, throwing a dime means the same. Throwing a dime is used mostly in football and baseball, outside of basketball.
In football, throwing a dime means a perfect pass. In baseball, it means making a perfect throw.
Quarterbacks are usually the only ones to throw in football. In baseball, you won’t hear it as much for pitchers since they are supposed to make perfect throws.
But you will hear it when a catcher makes a perfect throw to second.
Or when an outfielder makes a perfect throw to get someone out. That’s because in all of these situations, it’s making a far throw into a small spot.
The NFL has made a definition of the term “throwing a dime”, so it’s not just any perfect pass.
A Quarterback should be able to make a perfect short pass, especially in the NFL. The NFL has defined throwing a dime as a pass that travels at least 30 yards in the air and fits into a window of one yard or less.
Some of today’s great Quarterbacks are known for throwing dimes, such as Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers.
Some of the perfect passes they make seem impossible and deserve to be called “throwing a dime”.
The next time you hear someone say, “the threw a dime”, you’ll know it means a perfect pass.
Summary
A dime in basketball refers to an assist. A player could end the game with 12 assists, and someone will say they had “12 dimes”. But when you watch or play basketball, it’s more specific when they say, “dropped a dime”.
Dropping a dime means a player makes a perfect pass resulting in a score, thus an assist.
It used when the pass is pretty or perfect, sometimes both. It’s often used by announces, players, and fans to describe a hard pass that was made perfectly.
The term “dime” originated from the days of payphones. Phone calls from payphones normally cost 10 cents. When someone didn’t have 10 cents on them to make a call, they would ask for assistance.
That assistance was asking to be “dropped a dime” to make a phone call. The person giving them the dime is assisting them, therefore the term “dime” in basketball means an assist.
Dropping a dime in basketball isn’t easy. It takes practice, perfect timing, and execution. Some players are gifted with the ability to physically pass better than others.
But it also takes great vision by seeing where other players are. Great instincts and anticipation are also necessary to know when and where to pass. Players who drop dimes practice a lot and practice all different types of passes.
They also practice different speeds and types of passes, such as throws, or bounce passes.
Next time you see a perfect pass, or you make a perfect pass, say you “dropped a dime”. And if someone asks what that means, you can tell them it means a perfect pass and came from the days of the payphone. Careful, they might ask you “what is a payphone”.
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