fadeaway

plural fadeaways · alternative fade-away

1. An instance of fading away, of diminishing in proximity or intensity.

   In his final years he [John Ogdon] gave an interview to an American journalist who noticed that "his handshake is a boneless fadeaway["].

   2014 May 11, Ivan Hewett, “Piano Man: a Life of John Ogdon by Charles Beauclerk, review: A new biography of the great British pianist whose own genius destroyed him [print version: A colossus off-key, 10 May 2014, p. R27]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review)

2. ball gamesA jump shot made while jumping backwards, away from the basket, with the goal to create space between the shooter and the defender, making it much harder to block.

   He taunted the Knicks instead with hanging jumpers, impossible fadeaways and layups in traffic.

   2009 February 3, Howard Beck, “Bryant Puts on a Show, Setting Garden Records”, in New York Times

   1 more example

   [Markieff] Morris isn’t quite the post-up threat that [Enes] Kanter is, and he can play both the 4 spot and 5 spot instead of just center, like Kanter. He is capable of playing a similar way, backing defenders down in the post. He prefers getting his buckets there with a bevy of fade-aways and jumpers. He’s a heat checker. And he can get hot on the block.

   2019 February 25, Brett Dawson, Fred Katz, “How power forward Markieff Morris might fit in with the Thunder”, in The Athletic

3. slangThe ending of a personal relationship by stopping any contact with the other party and not providing an explanation.

   Why some people choose to do the infamous "fadeaway" instead of a clean break?