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