posterize

v.

To embarrass an opponent or rival.

Example Citations:

"But against Carter — the NBA's newest poster boy and last year's dunk champion — he knows it can happen on just about any play. After all, Carter posterizes someone just about every week with his highlight-reel, above-the-rim style of play."

— Omar Kelly, "Getting 'Posterized'," Sun-Sentinel, January 24, 2001

There's no doubt Team Lucent is trying to "be like Mike," seeing itself soaring over rival Cisco for a backboard-breaking dunk. The duo is trying to "posterize" Cisco the way Jordan froze the Utah Jazz forever in defeat, and it's building the lineup to do it.

—Evan Bass, "Team Lucent Tries To 'Be Like Mike'," Communications Today, August 11, 1999

Earliest Citation:

Michael Jordan ... is impossible to defend not because he can "posterize" you but because he brings a complete package to work.

—Tom Knott, "NBA: Season of the Brick," The Washington Times, November 22, 1996

Notes:

Today's verb has been a staple of professional basketball conversations for a number of years. Its origin comes from the possibility that if a player makes a spectacular play against an opponent, a picture of that play might end up on a poster. This would provide a permanent record of the opponent's embarrassment, so he'd have been posterized.

What makes this term more than just NBA slang is that (as many sports terms do) it's making its way into the business world, as well, as the second example citation shows.

Related Word:

ham-and-egging

Categories:

Sports and Recreation

Verbed Nouns