I previously came up with a term for a concept that had long gone termless, and that term applies very well to Al-Farouq Aminu’s performance against the Pistons. The term is “blibbum”, and it’s a neologism for a clutch shot that isn’t a game-winner.
Now, you might say, “why create a whole new word to confuse people when you could just use ‘clutch shot’ and everyone would know what you meant?”. And I might say in response “suck my blibbum”. The answer is because the English language is always evolving, but it won’t evolve if people don’t make up words for stuff that doesn’t have a good enough word for it yet. “Clutch shot” is so unwieldy. I don’t want to put that in my video titles. Which sounds better to you “22 Points/1 Clutch Shot” or “22 Points/1 Blibbum”? That’s right.
Aminu’s blibbum in this game came with 4 seconds left, as he scooped up a blocked attempt by Damian Lillard and banked it in, giving the Trailblazers a 5 point lead. Since it was a one-possession game before the shot, it counts as a blibbum. Otherwise, it would just be a normal shot. It would still count as a blibbum even if the Pistons somehow came back to tie or even win the game; blibbity (defined as “the state of being a blibbum”) is independent of victory status. Every game-winner can also be called a blibbum, but you lose some specificity if you use the word for a buzzer-beating game-winner.
It’s okay if you’re confused. Just keep the word in the back of your mind for a little bit, and you’ll eventually be surprised about how many times you can fit it into casual conversation.