In basketball, an air ball is a shot that misses both the rim and the backboard.
The usage may have an ironic subtext to it; "air" is generally used positively in basketball, often relating to jumping ability. The "air ball", on the other hand, is widely perceived as the opposite: a signifier of an unskilled player. To perform an air ball is often to be ribbed by one's co-players.
Although the term has often been deemed to have been created by the Cameron Crazies of Duke University, such attribution is highly suspect. Some have pointed to the date of February 24, 1979, during a college basketball game between the Duke University Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels, as the first recorded use of "air ball". During a highly unusual Duke-UNC game, in which UNC failed to score during the first half, the Duke crowd broke into a chant of "air ball" after Tar Heel player Rich Yonakor took UNC's only shot of the half, which missed the rim. It has become one of the most iconic jeers in college basketball.
It is also believed that longtime Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn was an early popularizer of the phrase.
Nevertheless, while the UNC-Duke game may have popularized the phrase, it is doubtful that the term originates from that date. American television announcer Keith Jackson can clearly be heard using the term "airball" in game five, during the third quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers and N.Y. Knicks 1972 championship series. With the score 69-65, Jackson's call is as follows: "Goodrich almost lost it to Monroe. Shoots. Short. Airball. Frazier rebounds. Bad shot by Goodrich." NBA Hardwood Classics (2005).
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In the Philippines, there is a game called air ball. The circle that the players are forming whenever the game would start is called the Circle of Enlightenment
Air ball was invented in Bountiful, Utah by a group of friends in the late 90's and early 2000's. The game is played on a trampoline with the number of players ranging from 3 to over 10. One or two players are located on the trampoline while the remaining players stay on the ground.
The players on the ground have a ball (soccer, dodge, or volleyball) that they are attempting to throw on the trampoline. The players on the trampoline do not want the ball to touch the trampoline.
The ground players must throw the ball to shoulder level trying to hit the trampoline. The on-tramp players must grab the ball while in the air and throw it off the tramp. If the ball hits the tramp or is caught by a ground player the tramp players must leave the tramp and the player who caused the change switches to the trampoline.