Double Nickel

A double nickel in basketball is a reference to there is an accumulation of 55 points. With the value of a nickel being 5 cents, it’s a reference to two nickels side-by-side. A double nickel can be a reference to a team only scoring 55 points, or a single player putting up 55 points on the stat sheet in a single game.

Example of how Double Nickel is used in commentary: Jordan is having himself another stellar night, as so far in the game he’s put up a double nickel.