What's a "dagger" anyway?

[Sibeerian]

Watched a ton of basketball during the blizzard and heard that term used way too early in the game, like with six minutes left. Maybe it's just me but I think a dagger is:
a three pointer;
happens very late in the game, three minutes or less;
comes pretty close to putting the game away, in a demoralizing way - a dagger to the heart.

Can there be more than one dagger in a game? Yeah maybe.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

If Raftery is calling the game, then there’s never enough “daggers”.

 

[husky429]

I think there can be more than one. A "dagger" could be a late shot clock three that extends a lead and opponent need to call a TO for example

 

[AntG168]

Watched a ton of basketball during the blizzard and heard that term used way too early in the game, like with six minutes left. Maybe it's just me but I think a dagger is:
a three pointer;
happens very late in the game, three minutes or less;
comes pretty close to putting the game away, in a demoralizing way - a dagger to the heart.

Can there be more than one dagger in a game? Yeah maybe.

Imo a dagger is just a momentum killer. Like if a team is up 15, the other team goes on a run cuts it 7. But then the other team knocks down a 3 to push it back to 10. That’s an emotional dagger. Basically just a momentum stopping big shot

 

[SoFla Steve]

I always thought it was a shot that killed the other team's chance to win.

 

[CL82]

I don’t know that there is a definition, per se, but it’s one of those things that we all know it when we see it. The three at the end of the shot clock in a close game is the prototypical dagger. Another one is an offensive rebound and dunk, again, after using almost a full shot clock and at the end of the game. I think of daggers as being something that convinces the losing team that they can no longer come back. So, they tend to happen at the end of games and especially after the losing team puts out a lot of effort, like defending for 28 of 30 seconds.

 

[superjohn]

 

[Scoe]

 

[CTBasketball]

View attachment 72841

The daggers in his holsters throughout his career have been utterly extraordinary!

 

[BigTenFan]

If Raftery is calling the game, then there’s never enough “daggers”.

Or Onions

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I don’t know that there is a definition, per se, but it’s one of those things that we all know it when we see it. The three at the end of the shot clock in a close game is the prototypical dagger. Another one is an offensive rebound and dunk, again, after using almost a full shot clock and at the end of the game. I think of daggers as being something that convinces the losing team that they can no longer come back. So, they tend to happen at the end of games and especially after the losing team puts out a lot of effort, like defending for 28 of 30 seconds.

A shot that kills the other teams hopes when they’re making a run. Typically late in the clock when it looks like they’re getting a big stop.
It’s like a dagger through their heart and hopes.

 

[CL82]

The daggers in his holsters throughout his career have been utterly extraordinary!

This is the quintessential Shabazz dagger.


(Fun fact on that runoff. Napier did it, because he hates being in crowds. Was it Madden who said don’t make big plays if you can’t take the celebration afterwards?)

 

[Tenspro2002]

The dagger is definitely as much of a mental/momentum thing as it is a change in win probability.

It's not really the game-winning shot. That's its own thing already.

The dagger is basically a shot that snuffs out a team's last chance. The late-shot-clock 3 that pushes a lead to 8 with 2 minutes to go.

Raftery uses it anytime, but he gets grandfathered in.

 

[XLCenterFan]

How many kisses off the glass have also been a dagger?

 

[Conndog]

If Raftery is calling the game, then there’s never enough “daggers”.

With him, it's a synonym for "Onions"

 

[Conndog]

Speaking of Napier and daggers, this other one is good too:

 

[CL82]

The dagger is definitely as much of a mental/momentum thing as it is a change in win probability.

It's not really the game-winning shot. That's its own thing already.

The dagger is basically a shot that snuffs out a team's last chance. The late-shot-clock 3 that pushes a lead to 8 with 2 minutes to go.

Raftery uses it anytime, but he gets grandfathered in.

The game winner is its own thing but a game winner can be a dagger. But a dagger can also be the shot that makes it mathematically unlikely that a team can come back. Like the shot that takes it from a two possession game to a three possession game with 35 seconds left.

 

[uconnfan68]

How many kisses off the glass have also been a dagger?

Only one “send it in Jerome”!

 

[CaptainRon]

A dagger is a shot that goes thru your heart. A kill shot. It kills momentum, it kills hope. You don’t see them all that often, but when you do, you know it. It sucks all the air out of the building for the receiving team.

 

[RichZ]

With him, it's a synonym for "Onions"

Raf's 'onions!" is a euphemism for balls. Big ones.

 

[husky429]

Does a dagger have to be a jumpshot?

I always imagine a dagger as a long-range shot, particularly one that barely hits the net.

 

[ecasadoSBU]

I always thought it was a shot that killed the other team's chance to win.

This is what I thought also. Even thought people rarely use it this way.

 

[ecasadoSBU]

This is the quintessential Shabazz dagger.


(Fun fact on that runoff. Napier did it, because he hates being in crowds. Was it Madden who said don’t make big plays if you can’t take the celebration afterwards?)

This isn't a dagger. This is just a game winning shot. I will never forget this game thought. I remember watching from home. Sick ending.

For me the dagger usually happens late in the game (about 3 mins left) and its usually a shot that basically seals a victory when the opposing team is mounting a comeback.

For example. Lets say the Johnies are down 14 against UConn with 5 to go @ Gampel. They cut the lead to 7 with 2:30 mins to go and firmly have all the momentum on their side. They are about to cut it to 5 when they turnover the ball and UConn hits a sick 3 pointer to get the lead back to 10 and basically erase any chance for a comeback. Meanwhile, the previously silent and nervous crowd explodes in excitement and takes the Johnies out of the game. The 3 pointer was the dagger here if its not obvious.

These things happen all the time. Daggers are momentum killers that erase any possibility for a comeback from the opposing team

 

[CL82]

This isn't a dagger. This is just a game winning shot. I will never forget this game thought. I remember watching from home. Sick ending.

For me the dagger usually happens late in the game (about 3 mins left) and its usually a shot that basically seals a victory when the opposing team is mounting a comeback.

For example. Lets say the Johnies are down 14 against UConn with 5 to go @ Gampel. They cut the lead to 7 with 2:30 mins to go and firmly have all the momentum on their side. They are about to cut it to 5 when they turnover the ball and UConn hits a sick 3 pointer to get the lead back to 10 and basically erase any chance for a comeback. Meanwhile, the previously silent and nervous crowd explodes in excitement and takes the Johnies out of the game. The 3 pointer was the dagger here if its not obvious.

These things happen all the time. Daggers are momentum killers that erase any possibility for a comeback from the opposing team

Yeah I can agree with that. If it’s at the buzzer it’s a game winner.

 

[Husky Alien]

This is a dagger.