How to Execute A Lay Up

A layup in basketball is a two-point shot attempt made by leaping from below, laying the ball up near the basket, and using one hand to bounce it off the backboard and into the basket. The motion and one-handed reach distinguish it from a jump shot. The layup is considered the most basic shot in basketball. When doing a layup, the player lifts the outside foot, or the foot away from the basket. It is a foul if, during your layup, you hold the other person's hand or push it away to avoid him or her from defending. On the other hand it is considered a foul if the defender jumps in front of you in the middle of nowhere and you both crash, in this case the defender causes a foul. A layup is very handy and to defend it, you just basically need to stand in front of the opponent with your arms stretched out.

A Lay Up is considered for most easy shot in basketball technique, because it’s taken so close from the basket that odds are you'll score every time. Since you're moving toward the basket when making a lay up, the most important part of a lay up to master is the footwork. Learning how to do a layup from both the left and right side of the basket will increase your ability to score against your opponents.

Lay Up Examples

Right Handed Lay Up

1. Dribble close to the basket with your right hand

*You can do a right-handed lay up if you're starting near the center or right side of the basket. If you're approaching the basket from the left, you'll want to do a left-handed lay up.

2. Step Toward the basket with your right foot.

When you just a few feet from the basket,take a step with your right foot.Use this step to gain a best distance and position for your lay up

3.Jump off of your left foot.

As soon as your left foot lands, use it to jump in the direction of the basket. Your body should be moving toward the basket, but don't lean forward

4. Shoot

with your right arm as you lift your right leg. As you jump, imagine a string attached to your right arm and your right leg. Move them at the same time as you shoot, as though someone were pulling upward on the string. Your right knee should be bent and pointed toward the basket while your right arm moves up to shoot the ball. Arch your arm toward the basket. Shoot with your elbow slightly bent, so that your arm looks like the neck of a swan.

5. Aim for the Backboard

Do you know why in the board near the basket have a backboard ? it created because to help the player for ease the shot into the basket. When you're doing a right-handed lay up, the sweet spot is slightly to the right of the square in the center of the backboard. This spot absorbs the impact of the ball and drops it right down through the net.

6.Practice until your muscles remember the movement

You should get to the point where your body remembers what to do and you don't have to think about which foot to put forward and which one to jump off: you just do it. Do lay ups as part of every basketball practice.

Left Handed Lay Up

*Lay Up With Left Hand is reverse with Right Hand

1. Dribble Close to the Basket with your left hand

Approach the left side of the basket with a dribble. Get close enough to have easy access to the basket so you can launch into your lay up from a few feet away. Don't get so close that you end up directly under the basket.

2. Step toward basket with your left foot

When you just a few feet from the basket,take a step with your right foot.Use this step to gain a best distance and position for your lay up. Give the ball one last hard dribble just to the outside of your left foot.

3. Jump off of your right foot

As soon as your left foot lands, use it to jump in the direction of the basket. Your body should be moving toward the basket, but don't lean forward

4. Shoot with your left arm as you lift your left leg

As you jump, imagine a string attached to your left arm and your left leg. Move them at the same time as you shoot, as though someone were pulling upward on the string. Your left knee should be bent and pointed toward the basket while your left arm moves up to shoot the ball

5. Aim for the sweet spot on the backboard

For a left-handed lay up, the ball should tap the backboard slightly to the left of the center of the square. When you hit that spot, you'll sink the shot every time, since the backboard absorb's the ball's impact and helps it drop right down through the net

6. Practice until your muscles remember the movement