A dunk is a shot thrown down through the basket. In an Eastbay you jump, lift one knee, pass the ball under that leg from one hand to the other, then bring it up and dunk it. It's associated with Isaiah Rider, who called it the "East Bay Funk Dunk" in the 1994 Slam Dunk Contest, which he won. It needs a lot of time in the air and the raised leg makes the landing harder, so build it on a solid plain dunk. We read your takeoff knee drive and, most of all, a bent-knee, absorbed landing; the between-the-legs pass itself is style the camera doesn't grade.
Set up
Make sure you can already dunk a plain one-hand or two-hand dunk comfortably. The Eastbay adds a hand-to-hand pass under your leg before the ball reaches the rim, so it needs more time in the air.
Plain dunk first.
Warm up, then attack the rim at a speed you can control. If you run in faster than you can stop, shorten and slow the approach.
Fast, but in control.
Gather the ball in two hands with a strong grip, close to your body.
Lock it in.
Take your two steps after the gather and jump. On a one-foot jump, go off one foot and drive the other knee up: that raised leg is the one the ball goes under. NBA and FIBA allow two steps after the gather; check your league's wording.
Step, step, knee up.
Dunk
As you rise, hold the ball in the hand on the outside of the raised leg, ready to pass.
Ball ready, knee high.
Pass the ball under the raised leg into your other hand. Keep the knee up until the catch is secure.
Under and catch.
Bring the ball straight up to the rim and throw it down before you start to fall.
Catch, up, down.
Let go of the rim straight away. In the NBA, deliberately hanging on the rim is a technical foul unless you are preventing an injury. FIBA allows a brief grasp after a dunk, but supporting your weight on the ring is a technical unless it prevents injury.
Touch and release.
Land
Bring the raised leg back down under you so you land on both feet. One-leg landings load the knee harder and bend it less.
Both feet back under you.
Land softly, bending your knees and hips, with your knees over your toes. Landing is the most common way basketball players hurt an ankle.
Land soft, sink into it.
Feel it
The knee comes up as part of the jump, not as an extra move, and the ball passes under it and sticks in the other hand while you're still rising. When it comes up to the rim you still feel high. The landing feels quiet: both feet down, knees and hips bending together, balanced under the basket instead of crashing on one stiff leg.
Fix-its
- You run out of air before the pass finishes Go back to a plain dunk until it's easy. Add the pass only when you finish plain dunks with room to spare.
- You fumble the pass under your leg Practise the hand-to-hand pass under a raised knee standing still, then on small jumps, before you take it to the rim. Grip hard and keep the ball close until you rise.
- You run in out of control Shorten the approach and slow it down. Use only as much speed as you can turn into a balanced takeoff, and add speed as that holds.
- Wrong foot or an extra step Count from the gather: two steps, then you're in the air. Walk it, jog it, then go full speed.
- Hanging on the rim or landing on one leg Release the rim straight away and get the raised leg back down so you land on both feet with knees and hips bent. Only hold the rim if letting go would mean landing on someone or falling.
Drill
- Landing practice: small jumps landing on two feet, softly, knees and hips bent, knees over toes. Do it as part of your warm-up 2–3 times a week.
- Standing pass: lift one knee and pass the ball under it from one hand to the other. Switch legs. Go until it's clean every time.
- Pass jumps: jump under the rim, lift the knee and pass the ball under it before you land. No dunk; get both feet back down and land soft.
- Plain dunks: one-hand or two-hand dunks from your approach until they're comfortable.
- Eastbay attempts: a few at a time, then rest. Stop the set when your landings get stiff, one-legged or sloppy, or anything hurts.
Sources
- Jr. NBA — Dunk (glossary)
- SportsLingo — Dunk (sports glossary): between-the-legs dunk
- Ben Golliver, Sports Illustrated — The 10 best Slam Dunk Contest dunks (2013)
- NBA.com Staff — 1994 NBA All-Star recap (2021)
- Basketball For Coaches — How to Do a Layup in Basketball (6-Step Guide)
- NBA Official Rulebook 2026-27 — Rule No. 10, Sec. XIII (Traveling)
- NBA Official Rulebook 2026-27 — Rule No. 12, Sec. IV and VII (Hanging on the basket ring)
- FIBA — Official Basketball Rules 2026, Art. 25 (Travelling) and Art. 36 (Technical foul: hanging on the ring)
- Liu & Zaferiou — Factors contributing to jump heights in two-foot running jumps with and without a basketball, Front Sports Act Living (2025)
- Padua et al. — NATA Position Statement: Prevention of ACL Injury, J Athl Train (2018)
- Wang — The Lower Extremity Biomechanics of Single- and Double-Leg Stop-Jump Tasks, J Sports Sci Med (2011)
- McKay et al. — Ankle injuries in basketball: injury rate and risk factors, Br J Sports Med (2001)
Last checked 2026-10-31.