Here's What "No Bag" Means in Basketball and Why Some Fans Use It to Describe Players' Games

Even the most casual basketball or sports fan knows the common terms in the game, like dribble, pass, foul, dunk, and free throw. But what does "no bag" mean in basketball, and how does it pertain to professional players? It's something you might have heard from fans or on social media following various NBA games, and some fans even say it in reference to some of the top players.

If you hadn't already guessed, having "no bag" in basketball is not a good thing. However, some basketball fans think that doing anything other than making baskets doesn't matter. As one fan put it in a Reddit thread, "Having a bag is irrelevant. The game is and has always been about getting buckets. A bucket is a bucket, no matter how you got it."

According to basketball fans on X (formerly Twitter), "no bag" means a player lacks special moves outside the basics in the sport. They might still make plenty of baskets and, therefore, score a lot of points for their team. But, for some, if the player has "no bag," they don't have anything else special about their game.

"He has no bag, meaning he has very little skill just enough to get by at d--n near 7 feet," one user posted, in reference to a player in a clip from a game. "Let's not forget athleticism is not skill, it's his God given gift. He knows basketball, Brent just doesn't have a bag. Like someone not 7 feet would need."

In the Reddit thread about what "no bag" means in basketball, a user commented to explain that it refers to "flashy" moves in basketball. These types of moves would be dribble combos, elaborate moves on the court, or something else entirely that improves a player's game and is special to them alone. The big debate is whether or not having a bag really matters when it comes down to the numbers. As in, the score. Bag or not, some top players still score plenty.

Although it seems outlandish for high-profile, legendary NBA players to be accused of having "no bag" and therefore no additional skill other than making baskets, it has happened with LeBron James, of all players. And, according to the sports show First Things First and a clip that was posted on its official Facebook page, James responded to social media claims that he has no bag in the game.

"I'll be on social media and see, 'LeBron has no bag.' I'm sitting here with 50 billion points," he said, according to the show.

Which is why, according to other fans of the sport, having a bag, or a special set of fancy skills in the game, doesn't mean much when the scores speak for themselves.