above the rim

English

Prepositional phrase

above the rim

1. (basketball) [handing the ball] higher than the rim of the basket (such as during a slam dunk or alley oop)
   • 2003, Walter M. Kimbrough, Black Greek 101: The Culture, Customs, and Challenges of Black Fraternities and Sororities‎^[1], Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, →ISBN, page 111:

     Basketball went from a game of set shots and long jumpers to a game played above the rim, characterized by earth-shattering dunks.

   • 2017, Rick Eckstein, How College Athletics Are Hurting Girls' Sports: The Pay-to-Play Pipeline‎^[2], Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 149:

     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).

   • 2021 December 13, Bob Padecky, “Stephen Curry has made jump shot an art form”, in The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, California:

     Whereas Erving made his impact above the rim Curry is expanding what we never thought was expandable - the jump shot.

2. (figuratively, Canada, US) at a high level of excellence
   • 1995 June, Lloyd Ward, quoted in Lloyd Gite, "Playing Above the Rim" Black Enterprise p. 214

     I believe in playing above the rim on the court, and in my career.

   • 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

     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.

   • 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."

Usage notes

Usually as a complement of play