Alley-Oop Pass: Basketball technique, drills and fixes

The alley-oop pass is a lob thrown high toward the rim so a teammate can catch it in the air and score before landing. Coaching sources treat it as a timing pass you save for a real edge: a receiver with a clear size or jumping advantage, or a defender who has fronted or overplayed them. A passing skill — the placement and timing are yours to master, not something a camera grades.

Set up

Look for the edge first: a teammate who clearly out-jumps or out-sizes their defender, or a defender who fronts or overplays them. Without that edge, make a safer pass.

Only with a clear advantage.

Make sure you both know the play is on, through a called set, a signal or eye contact. A lob nobody expects goes out of bounds.

Both in on it.

Get a good passing angle before you throw. In a back-screen lob set, the passer cuts out above the free-throw line extended to open the angle to the rim.

Don't stare at the receiver. Use a ball fake, a head fake or a look away so the defense can't read the lob coming.

Hide it.

Pass

Release when the defender commits: as they step in front to deny, or as your cutter gets behind them. Not before, not after.

Throw on the commit.

Throw it with a high arc, just over the top of the defender's reach.

Aim at a spot, not at your teammate: the space near the rim, behind the defender, where they will be at the top of their jump. Lead them; don't throw to where they are now.

Throw to the space.

Set the height to the receiver. How far above the rim you put it depends on how tall they are and how high they jump, so it lands where they can catch and finish in one motion.

High enough for them, not higher.

If the lob isn't there, don't force it. In a lob set it's one option of several, so make the next pass instead; if your teammate catches it but can't finish, they can kick it back out.

Receiver

Against a front: push the defender out away from the basket, seal them, and show your passer both hands high. Hold the seal and don't break for the ball until it's overhead.

Catching to finish: go up for the ball and catch it with your inside hand (the hand nearest the basket) where you can, so you can score in front of the rim.

Landing: land softly, bend your knees and hips, and keep your knees over your toes.

Feel it

You're throwing to a spot, not a person. The ball floats over the defender and drops into the space your teammate is jumping into. If they had to wait for the ball, or the ball had to wait for them, the timing was off.

Fix-its

It gets tipped or stolen The pass was too low. Put more arc on it so it clears the defender's reach.
Your teammate can't reach it, or it sails out of bounds Too high or too long. Pitch the height to this receiver's reach and aim at the space near the rim, not past it.
The defense sees it coming You telegraphed it. Stop staring at the receiver; fake or look away before you throw.
The timing is off Throw the moment the defender commits and lead the cutter, so the ball arrives as they're open, not before or after.
You force it with no edge A lob into a fronted post often fails. Throw it only with a clear size or jumping advantage; otherwise reverse the ball and make the safer pass.

Drill

Post lob, no defense: a post player seals an imaginary front with both hands high; you lob over the top. They don't release until the ball is overhead. Work on height and spot.
Post lob with a defender: add a fronting defender who plays passively at first and gets more aggressive as your lobs get consistent.
Feed from the wings: throw the same lob from each wing to the post on that side, so you learn the angle from both sides.
Basket-cut lob: your teammate passes to you and basket-cuts. Instead of hitting them right away, lob over the top into the space behind their defender.
Back-screen lob: run a set where the cutter comes off a back screen to the rim and you lob from above the free-throw line extended. Repeat with the same partner until the timing and arc are consistent.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-26.