It’s the dream of every kid that is starting to play basketball: performing your first dunk! A lot of times it’s not just the kids that want to learn it, but also adults at age 30 or even age 40 that missed out on trying it earlier.
In this article I will teach you the techniques that you need to know in order to fulfill your basketball dream. Of course you should be in a proper physical condition to complete jumps without risking injuries to yourself.
(Disclosure — this article may contain affiliate links. If you purchase anything after clicking an affiliate link, I may receive a compensation).
Learn the basic requirement
You don’t get more than two points for dunking, but there are not many moves in sports that look more impressive than a successful dunk.
If you want to hit that slam dunk and impress your friends or teammates, then there is one major requirement: a high VERTICAL JUMP! Without being able to jump high enough, there is no chance of dunking a basketball! Of course if you’re 6-foot-7 it is much easier to reach the rim. Smaller people will need to increase their ability to jump vertically. There is no dunking if you can’t reach the hoop. The good news: it is possible, even if you are below 6 feet!
Working on your strength is the best method to get your body and specifically your legs in shape. Strength training is helpful to build muscle which in turn will lead to increased jumping power. If you want to dunk a basketball, your legs need to be in the right condition. So what do you need to do?
First of all, go with the proven compound exercise for legs: squats. Don’t forget to build strength in your core and upper body as well with pull-ups, bench press and deadlifts. Make sure to perform all exercises the right way and seek help by a professional coach if you are not sure how to do them properly. You will feel the effect of increased leg power on your jump once you have gained more muscle strength.
Want to increase your vertical jump by 9 to 15 inches? Check out this resource that has already helped more than 20.000 people to finally dunk. (*affiliate link)
For even more leg strength as a basketball player you should also do lunges and reverse lunges as well as a calf workout.
To add more explosiveness to your jump, I recommend to start rope skipping. Once you have mastered the regular rope skips you can proceed to do different variations of it, like one-legged jumps or double-skips. Doing this exercise does offer a lot of benefits for athletes and basketball players as it will lead to more agility and quicker feet in general. Skipping rope is also a good cardio workout.
Now to really get you high in the air, the short rope hops will probably not be enough to fully get you up to the hoop and dunk the basketball.
It is recommended to specifically train your jumps. (*affiliate link) The best way for my own vertical jump improvements were box jumps and jumping over hurdles. Don’t aim to high in the beginning and simply start with a box that is not very high. Work your way up from there to make it a challenge. But always make sure to be safe and don’t risk any injuries!
You can also jump down from one box and jump right onto the next one all in one motion. This has a great effect on your muscle strength and mimics part of the motion you need to jump up to the rim. However this technique is more advanced and should only be performed if you are experienced with repetitive explosive exercises (plyometrics) and you should be under the supervision of a professional trainer to prevent injuries.
Each time you are working on these jumps the right way, it will get you a little bit closer to dunking until the day comes that you can jump high enough to reach the hoop. Just stick with it!
Dunk a Basketball: Jumping With One Foot Or With Two??
When you watch a basketball game you usually see two types of dunks. Some guys jump up using only leg, while others take the two foot approach.
So which one is better?
The solution is straight forward: it’s the type that gets you up to the hoop easier :) Joke aside, both techniques work and have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Jumping up on one leg seems to be the more natural way to launch yourself into the air. You can use your running motion to jump up to the rim. To put it short, it is a more flowing motion and takes advantage of your speed. However on the downside it normally leads to a one-handed dunk. In case you are a person with rather small hands it can be difficult to be able to fully palm the whole ball to do a one-handed dunk. Also launching yourself in the air like this can be challenging if you’re built rather heavy.
The two-legged dunk with the ball in both hands — like in the picture above — means dunking with authority and generally looks more spectacular. This way is more suitable for heavier players that rely on their muscle strength rather than their quickness. The downside to dunking off two legs is that you are standing still in one spot before jumping up. In a game this slows down the play and might give the defender more time to react.
My advice for you is to try both versions and see which one fits you more and also think about when you want to perform the dunk. Is it in a game or just in your backyard? I just wanted to dunk for fun and show it to my friends. For me the two-legged dunk was easier to learn. Plus it has the benefit that it doesn’t put all stress on one knee during the jump. This makes it less likely to injure yourself.
General Tips For Your First Dunk
Finally this is what you should know when you want to learn how to dunk:
Be patient: Learning the proper dunking technique will take some time. You need to put in time and effort for at least several weeks. Don’t be a quitter!
Be safe: Especially the way down after your jump holds the risk of injuries to both your knees and your feet. Make sure to keep your muscles and tendons under tension to protect yourself against ankle sprains or ligament damage in your knees.
Be safe II: Do not dunk on portable nets! In all likelihood they will fall over as soon as you put weight on the rim. Make sure to practice on proper goals.
Be a star: Whether you are a teenager on your way to become an athlete or an adult that has never been a basketball player before, treat your dunking journey professionally. Take the right approach, but also have fun. Everyone I know wants to re-live their first dunk ever. So as soon as you are really close to dunking, have someone with you to film your attempts. History will be made!
Now go out and show them that you can do it. Dunking for the first time will make you feel ecstatic! Enjoy the ride!
(*Disclosure — this article may contain affiliate links. If you purchase anything after clicking an affiliate link, I may receive a compensation).
