Basketball Finishing – Layup / Dunk Series

Most basketball teams start out practices or warm-up for games with layup lines.  Most players will start these drills and just go through the motions.  Some players see how high they can jump (touching the backboard as high as they can).  More athletic players will practice their “dunks”…soft layups above the rim without actually “dunking” it through.  However, the truth is… If you aren’t using this time intelligently, it is all just wasted effort.  Everything you do on the court should be done for a reason.  Why not switch up your “going through the motions” layups with something that you might actually experience during a game (or during practice).  If you watch below you will see our basic basketball finishing layup / dunk series.  This series goes through each of the basic layups that a player might encounter in a game.

• regular one foot layup or dunk with left or right hand (for open finishes)
• inside hand layups with left and right hand (for quick finishes or finishing “underneath” a defender)
• strong hand reverse layups, from either side (using the rim to protect or surprising a defender)
• weak hand reverse layup, from either side (same as strong hand)
• finishing off two feet (for finishing strong, against contact, or against a big defender)
• finger roll / dunk to the middle (aggressive attack or open finishes)

This is a great way to start practice. These are all finishes that can happen in a game and you should always be preparing for what actually happens. Players, you can use this to get better. Coaches, you should implement this right away, as this can start better preparing your team NOW. Watch the video below:

photo credit: dionysisk