How to Dunk
Dribble toward the basket., Use a smaller ball., Work on your ball handling., Land correctly., Practice dunking on a shorter rim., Invest in a good pair of shoes., Be persistent., Increase your vertical leap., Learn about plyometrics., Work on your...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Dribble toward the basket.
Take the allowed two steps while palming the ball in your dunking hand and controlling your approach.
Leap from your plant foot, opposite your shooting hand, extend your arm to the rim, and drive the ball through the net.
Dunk one-handed first.
The two-handed slam is maybe the most dominating move in basketball, but it takes a lot more leap to touch the rim with two hands.
You can build up to it. -
Step 2: Use a smaller ball.
It's much easier, when you're first starting out, to try dunking with a smaller ball.
You'll be able to palm it more easily and control your approach, making the maneuver more satisfying and your practice closer to the real thing.
Continue dribbling and shooting exercises with the appropriate-sized ball so you're not getting too used to the "wrong" size, but keep a small ball around for your sick dunks., Get a feel for how to use inertia to control the ball when your arm is extended.
Even people who can palm a basketball sometimes lose their grip when dunking, so you need to get a feel for maneuvering the ball and controlling it in the air.
Practice running at the rim and slamming the ball against it.
Even if you're not "dunking," you're still practicing your approach and holding the ball correctly as you leap toward the hoop.
You can try a tennis ball or golf ball first, then a volleyball, and work your way up to a basketball. , It's common to focus all your energy on getting the rock in the hole and end up falling on your butt, which hurts.
A lot.
It happens, even to the pros, but spend some time completing the follow-through and focusing on completing the entire sequence of moves, landing safely, and you'll dunk more accurately and more consistently.
Visualize the successful dunk and immediately focus on your landing.
Try to land on both feet, cushioning your legs and flexing into the landing.
Watch out for other players.
Don't hang on the rim.
In most games, hanging on the rim isn't allowed unless you're in danger of landing on someone below you, but hanging on the rim can damage the hoop, and also throw you off balance, pulling your legs out from under you so you fall backwards.
So don't try to grab the rim after you've slammed the ball, just dunk it and drop. , Start with an adjustable height basket, if you have access to one.
Lower the height so you can get a feel for dunking, then raise it gradually to the standard height as you improve. , Most players find that high-quality shoes improve their ability to dunk, and more importantly, prevent you from getting hurt when you try to dunk. , You'll likely embarrass yourself during your first several attempts to dunk, but get up off the floor and try again.
You'll be very impressed at your improvement if you keep practicing your leaps and building the strength in your legs. , You will need the lifting power of your legs to get you in the air and up to the basket.
Building a regimen of leg workouts that will increase the fast-twitch strength and the flexibility of your leg muscles can help you add inches to your vertical leap, getting you that much closer to the rim.A good regimen to get started with might include: 50-100 calf raises 2 or 3 sets of squats and lunges 3-5 sets of 60 second wall sits , Plyometrics are exercises that use the resistance of your own body to build strength and are essential for building the kind of strength necessary to build your jump.
It takes time to train your body to jump higher, but working the right muscle groups can improve your explosiveness and height without maxing out regularly in the weight room.
Muscle groups that need to be stronger:
Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals, calves.
The quadriceps extend the knee, while the hamstrings and gluteals extend the hip.
The calves flex the ankle, giving you that initial hop. , Just building strength in your legs won't do it.
The muscles also need to be loose and flexible, giving you the movement and response you'll need to dunk over the defense.
Develop your flexibility by regularly stretching, doing elastic resistance exercises, and giving yoga a shot.
Muscle groups that need flexibility:
Hamstrings and hip flexors.
Tight hamstrings will impede the knee extension during the jump.
Hip flexors resist the hip extension part of the jump. , Coaches make you run stairs for a reason.
Running stairs will develop all the quadriceps, hips, and calves, helping to build all-around leg strength and flexibility.
It's also cheap.
You can run stairs at your house, at school after-hours, or even on the bleachers outside. , Jump across the whole court and back.
Try three laps or more, leaping as high as you can each time.
Jump to touch the net with a running jump until you are able to do it ten times in a row.
You probably won't be able to do this all in one day.
Keep working at it.
Keep jumping.
Set your sights on the rim. , Shaquille O'Neal was known for double-handing the ball into the goal so forcefully, the backboard would shatter.
While rim technology makes that not particularly possible any more, it's still a powerful and demoralizing dunk to pull off.
You need a really high vertical to pull of a two-handed dunk.
Practice standing under the rim and jumping straight up until you can touch your wrists to the rim. , Suggesting you're so high you could dunk it twice, in the double-pump dunk you bring the ball back down to chest level at the apex of your leap, then force it back up to slam it with authority.
Some notable players, Tracy McGrady among them, would do this regularly while spinning in the air, doing a 360 dunk variation. , As you approach, bring the ball into your abdomen and back, extending your arm behind your body and up in a circular fashion, like a windmill spinning.
At the apex of your jump, bring your arm all the way around to throw it down like a boss.
Dominique Wilkins, the Dunkmaster General of the 90s, used to blow crowds away with this spectacular dunk. , Either two-handed or one-handed, the tomahawk dunk involves bringing the ball back over your head by bending your elbows and slamming it forcefully into the hoop, as if you were chopping a tomahawk. "Dr.
J" Julius Erving popularized this poster dunk, as well as Darryl Dawkins, who broke several backboards tomahawk dunking. , While he wasn't the first player to complete it, Vince Carter wowed crowds at the 2000 NBA dunk contest by passing the ball under one leg while in the air and slamming it with authority.
It didn't hurt that his forehead was almost touching the rim.
If you've worked your ups to that height, try passing it under one leg and dunking it. -
Step 3: Work on your ball handling.
-
Step 4: Land correctly.
-
Step 5: Practice dunking on a shorter rim.
-
Step 6: Invest in a good pair of shoes.
-
Step 7: Be persistent.
-
Step 8: Increase your vertical leap.
-
Step 9: Learn about plyometrics.
-
Step 10: Work on your flexibility.
-
Step 11: Start running stairs.
-
Step 12: Practice jumping at the court.
-
Step 13: Learn the two-handed slam.
-
Step 14: Add some flair with a double-pump.
-
Step 15: Turn on the windmill.
-
Step 16: Chop the tomahawk.
-
Step 17: Go between the legs.
Detailed Guide
Take the allowed two steps while palming the ball in your dunking hand and controlling your approach.
Leap from your plant foot, opposite your shooting hand, extend your arm to the rim, and drive the ball through the net.
Dunk one-handed first.
The two-handed slam is maybe the most dominating move in basketball, but it takes a lot more leap to touch the rim with two hands.
You can build up to it.
It's much easier, when you're first starting out, to try dunking with a smaller ball.
You'll be able to palm it more easily and control your approach, making the maneuver more satisfying and your practice closer to the real thing.
Continue dribbling and shooting exercises with the appropriate-sized ball so you're not getting too used to the "wrong" size, but keep a small ball around for your sick dunks., Get a feel for how to use inertia to control the ball when your arm is extended.
Even people who can palm a basketball sometimes lose their grip when dunking, so you need to get a feel for maneuvering the ball and controlling it in the air.
Practice running at the rim and slamming the ball against it.
Even if you're not "dunking," you're still practicing your approach and holding the ball correctly as you leap toward the hoop.
You can try a tennis ball or golf ball first, then a volleyball, and work your way up to a basketball. , It's common to focus all your energy on getting the rock in the hole and end up falling on your butt, which hurts.
A lot.
It happens, even to the pros, but spend some time completing the follow-through and focusing on completing the entire sequence of moves, landing safely, and you'll dunk more accurately and more consistently.
Visualize the successful dunk and immediately focus on your landing.
Try to land on both feet, cushioning your legs and flexing into the landing.
Watch out for other players.
Don't hang on the rim.
In most games, hanging on the rim isn't allowed unless you're in danger of landing on someone below you, but hanging on the rim can damage the hoop, and also throw you off balance, pulling your legs out from under you so you fall backwards.
So don't try to grab the rim after you've slammed the ball, just dunk it and drop. , Start with an adjustable height basket, if you have access to one.
Lower the height so you can get a feel for dunking, then raise it gradually to the standard height as you improve. , Most players find that high-quality shoes improve their ability to dunk, and more importantly, prevent you from getting hurt when you try to dunk. , You'll likely embarrass yourself during your first several attempts to dunk, but get up off the floor and try again.
You'll be very impressed at your improvement if you keep practicing your leaps and building the strength in your legs. , You will need the lifting power of your legs to get you in the air and up to the basket.
Building a regimen of leg workouts that will increase the fast-twitch strength and the flexibility of your leg muscles can help you add inches to your vertical leap, getting you that much closer to the rim.A good regimen to get started with might include: 50-100 calf raises 2 or 3 sets of squats and lunges 3-5 sets of 60 second wall sits , Plyometrics are exercises that use the resistance of your own body to build strength and are essential for building the kind of strength necessary to build your jump.
It takes time to train your body to jump higher, but working the right muscle groups can improve your explosiveness and height without maxing out regularly in the weight room.
Muscle groups that need to be stronger:
Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals, calves.
The quadriceps extend the knee, while the hamstrings and gluteals extend the hip.
The calves flex the ankle, giving you that initial hop. , Just building strength in your legs won't do it.
The muscles also need to be loose and flexible, giving you the movement and response you'll need to dunk over the defense.
Develop your flexibility by regularly stretching, doing elastic resistance exercises, and giving yoga a shot.
Muscle groups that need flexibility:
Hamstrings and hip flexors.
Tight hamstrings will impede the knee extension during the jump.
Hip flexors resist the hip extension part of the jump. , Coaches make you run stairs for a reason.
Running stairs will develop all the quadriceps, hips, and calves, helping to build all-around leg strength and flexibility.
It's also cheap.
You can run stairs at your house, at school after-hours, or even on the bleachers outside. , Jump across the whole court and back.
Try three laps or more, leaping as high as you can each time.
Jump to touch the net with a running jump until you are able to do it ten times in a row.
You probably won't be able to do this all in one day.
Keep working at it.
Keep jumping.
Set your sights on the rim. , Shaquille O'Neal was known for double-handing the ball into the goal so forcefully, the backboard would shatter.
While rim technology makes that not particularly possible any more, it's still a powerful and demoralizing dunk to pull off.
You need a really high vertical to pull of a two-handed dunk.
Practice standing under the rim and jumping straight up until you can touch your wrists to the rim. , Suggesting you're so high you could dunk it twice, in the double-pump dunk you bring the ball back down to chest level at the apex of your leap, then force it back up to slam it with authority.
Some notable players, Tracy McGrady among them, would do this regularly while spinning in the air, doing a 360 dunk variation. , As you approach, bring the ball into your abdomen and back, extending your arm behind your body and up in a circular fashion, like a windmill spinning.
At the apex of your jump, bring your arm all the way around to throw it down like a boss.
Dominique Wilkins, the Dunkmaster General of the 90s, used to blow crowds away with this spectacular dunk. , Either two-handed or one-handed, the tomahawk dunk involves bringing the ball back over your head by bending your elbows and slamming it forcefully into the hoop, as if you were chopping a tomahawk. "Dr.
J" Julius Erving popularized this poster dunk, as well as Darryl Dawkins, who broke several backboards tomahawk dunking. , While he wasn't the first player to complete it, Vince Carter wowed crowds at the 2000 NBA dunk contest by passing the ball under one leg while in the air and slamming it with authority.
It didn't hurt that his forehead was almost touching the rim.
If you've worked your ups to that height, try passing it under one leg and dunking it.
About the Author
Emma Smith
Enthusiastic about teaching cooking techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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