Press
How to understand the basketball term “press”?
What is the definition of “press” in basketball?
What does “press” stand for?
Press is a term used to describe when a player plays close and aggressive defense in basketball.
A defensive player may be enticed to play press defense if they know that the ball handler is mainly a one dimensional jump shooter. If the ball handler is not good at driving into the lane, then the defender will play press defense and will get closer to the ball handler so that they have a difficult time getting a shot off.
On the other hand, if the ball handler is quick and is very good at driving to the basket, then the defender may not play as close to the ball handler to help prevent them from using their speed and dribbling to the basket.
Examples of how Press is used in commentary: Paul is not giving Williams any room to get a good shot off with his strong and close press defense.