How to Slam Dunk

In the sport of basketball, a slam dunk is a kind of shot which is done when a player jumps in the air and throws the ball downward so as to pass it through the basket. He may do it with one or both the hands over the rim. A slam dunk is often referred to simply as a dunk. This is taken as a normal field goal attempt. If it is done successfully, it earns the team of the doer two points.

Slam dunk is considered among the highest percentage shots a player can attempt in basketball. It simply pleases the audience. The player suddenly becomes the talk of the crowd. If you play basketball, you must be aware of the importance of doing a slam dunk. It must be your dream to do it.

How to Slam Dunk a Basketball

There are some basic requirements for performing a slam dunk. The foremost is to be able to palm the ball. You need to have big palms to hold the ball comfortably with them. Secondly, you need to be tall. The height of your body will make you able to jump high enough to do the task. However, this does not mean that you cannot slam dunk if you don't have big palms and good height. You can certainly do it with proper and regular practice. Work towards increasing your vertical leap. You need to have the power to lift your legs to get your body in the air to reach the basket. You can gain such a strength to jump higher for basketball by doing squats on a regular basis. An alternative to how to increase vertical jump to dunk is to do wall sits. This exercise will also help you gain some extra inches.

Dribble toward the basket. Try to do it with speed. Pick the basketball up from your dribble. You need to pick it up about 10-12 feet from the basket. Take the two steps which are allowed to you. Now, palm the basketball with your dunking hand. Grasp the ball firmly with either one or both the hands. Perform this particular step very nicely as the rest of the steps depends largely upon it. If you hold the ball less firmly, you may drop it and lose your chance of dripping. The next step is to push up your second step. Keep moving toward the rim. Jump as high as is possible for you or is actually required. Stretch your arms out with the ball to the direction of the rim. In case, you are making use of both the hands, you may bring the basketball to the back of your head. This particular step is not necessary from the dunking point of view. However, most of the expert players, who are adept at slam dunking, love to do this. This is because, this step fetches them additional points for style. The crowd appreciates the confidence and expertise of the player.

Moving on to the next step, throw the basketball through the basket. Try not to hang from the rim. This will spoil your appearance while performing such a significant task. However, you may have to do it if you find that you may land on other player while coming back to the ground. As has been mentioned in the upper paragraph, people will appreciate your confidence and expertise at dunking. Give them another evidence to believe you. Celebrate your dunk in a calm and cool way with your team players. Run back to the play defense. Make it clear to others that it was surely not your first slam dunk. Performing slam dunks is something which you do quite often.

The best way to start with the given technique for dunking is to play with an adjustable height basket and use basketball drills for beginners. Keep the height of the basket lower so that you can reach it easily and dunk. Practice dunking with this height till you learn to use your body and mind to dunk comfortably. Raise the height of the basket after a significant period of time. Practice dunking with the new height. Keep doing this till you get adept at dunking with the standard height of the basket. This is a superb way to learn how to dunk a basketball for short people. Make effective use of the knowledge and shine in any game of basketball.