I was never much of a basketball guy, so I don’t know the ins and outs, but I’m trying to learn. When I ask this question, I mean with regard to which is the correct choice. Ultimately when you’re in the zone you won’t necessarily have a conscious, in depth thought process about everything you do, but from an objective standpoint, which is better, to attempt a dunk or attempt a layup? Obviously there’s gonna be situations where one’s easier to put in than the other, but assuming that somehow both are about equally open, maybe imagine a fast break scenario. And I’m talking about, like, for an NBA pkayer who’s gonna have practiced both of them a million times and have the requisite athletic ability to achieve either of them more often than not.
This question came to me because, in football we teach not to try and extend the ball across the goalline, especially when diving towards a pylon. You see it done all the time in the NFL anyway, but there are times when it costs guys like Justin Jefferson a few weeks ago against the Eagles. There’s a high probability of scoring anyway when you do it which is why it’s done so often, but the chance of giving up a near TD or near goalline downing of the ball for a touchback is real enough that we teach not to do it. Now for a layup vs dunk, both are presumably the two best shots you can take in a high level basketball game anyway, but which is better? Dunks are literally placing the ball directly into the basket, but carry their own risks and can be tough to do even for guys that tall with that high a jumper and that much athleticism. Whereas a layup seems safer and more consistent but it’s also not as direct as literally putting the ball in there with your hand and ostensibly (to my untrained ass eyes) seems easier to block than a dunk from someone as strong as high level basketball players are
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Dunk if you’re contested, layup if you’re wide open (conserve some energy for defense).
I think it depends on context. Dunks are typically seen as “going up stronger” than layups but the risk with a dunk is the player trying to be too flashy and just missing it altogether. Conversely, a layup is sometimes seen as the “fundamental” thing to do but other times it can be the player going up too soft. Dunks probably have a higher risk of injury too.
I would say in the NBA the players are so good that they really aren’t going to miss dunks very much so a dunk is probably better for them. At younger levels like high school it’s probably safer to shoot a layup.
There’s no correct answer for every player. Some players can fly high and dunk it no problem, but some players would try and dunk and get hung on the rim looking stupid. Dunks are higher percentage if you can consistently dunk, if not just lay it up. Dunks can get blocked, but they rarely do. Layup attempts get blocked a lot more often but that’s also because there are a lot more layup attempts per game.
If you’re Lebron James out on the break with no one in your way, you dunk it. If you’re Steph Curry, lay it up
From experience:
- Layup if you have the space and time.
- Or a gentle dunk if you have the hops to get up there.
What you want to avoid is going for a power dunk (windmill, tomahawk, etc) and getting rejected by the front or the back of the ring. I smirk every time I see one. I played against a young guy who was on a fast break with all the time in the world. He went for a power dunk, powered it off the back of the rim, I got the rebound coming up near the 3 pt line and passed it up court to my team. He looked a bit embarrassed, I said you should have laid it up and we both laughed.
If you have the hops and just dunk it with both hands - basically just putting/pushing it down through the hoop then it’s actually a higher percentage shot than a layup (sometimes you get it rolling out around the rim) but in a game going for a dunk often takes longer than a layup which gives the defence more time to get to you and if you are trying to dunk right over someone then you are bringing the ball quite close to a defender and a good defender can screw up your shot by getting a couple of fingers as you bring the ball up from your dribble or a solid hand between your downward dunk motion and the hoop - that’s one cold statement block right there.
So I prefer to layup when free and baby hook in traffic (can’t block that old school stuff) but then I’m 58 and haven’t dunked for about 5 years.
Dunk