The one-leg fadeaway is a jump shot taken off one foot while you drift away from the defender, with your other knee raised in front of you. It is associated with Dirk Nowitzki, a right-handed shooter who took off from his left foot, mostly from the post; the Mavericks put a statue of the shot outside their arena. Balance and the one-leg landing are harder than on a normal jumper, so own the two-foot jump shot first. The analyzer reads your set point, arm extension, follow-through and your balance on the one-leg base.
Set up
Build a balanced two-foot jump shot and a post turnaround first. This move adds a one-leg takeoff, a fade and a one-leg landing on top of them.
Jumper first, then the fade.
Work from the mid or long post with the defender on your back or hip, or face up at the edge of the paint. Nowitzki's version was built for the long post on the right side and often came after one short dribble and a pull back, or after backing the defender down.
Defender on your hip.
Take off from the foot opposite your shooting hand: a right-handed shooter goes off the left foot, as Nowitzki did. Keep it the same foot every rep. Jumping off the shooting-hand-side foot is the Sombor Shuffle, which has its own lesson.
Same foot every time.
Keep the ball high and on your shooting side as you turn, away from the defender's hands.
Ball high and protected.
Stay legal
From a hold (post catch or jump stop), you may jump off your pivot foot to shoot, but the ball must leave your hand before that foot, or any foot under FIBA rules, touches the floor again. Don't shuffle or slide the pivot foot before you rise.
Ball out before a foot comes down.
Off a dribble, your steps count from the moment you gather the ball. The NBA allows two steps to stop or shoot after gaining control, and if you land on one foot first you may only pivot on that foot. Other leagues word this differently, so check your league's rule.
Your raised knee goes up in front of you, not out into the defender. Impeding an opponent by extending a leg or knee is a foul.
Knee up, not out.
Shoot
Rise off your takeoff foot and bring the other knee up in front of your body. In Nowitzki's shot the raised leg sits in front of him, which keeps a lunging defender farther from the ball.
Push off one, knee up in front.
Keep the jump short and the fade small: lean away from the defender only as far as you need for a clean look. A bigger drift costs you distance and balance.
Small hop, small fade.
Send your head and shoulders forward and up toward the rim while your body drifts back. Leaning your shoulders back is a common cause of misses.
Body drifts, shoulders stay on the rim.
Release high. From mid-range let it go on the way up, just before the top of your jump; close in, shoot from the top.
High release, on the way up from range.
Extend your shooting elbow fully with an arm path of about 45 to 60 degrees for arc, and hold the follow-through until the ball reaches the rim.
Reach up and hold it.
Land safe
Land softly on your takeoff foot with your knee and hip bending and your knee tracking over your toes, not caving in.
Quiet landing, knee over toes.
Put your raised foot down right after so both legs share the load. In a lab study, one-leg landings produced higher forces and less knee bend than two-leg landings.
One foot, then two.
Check the floor where you'll land, away from other players' feet. Landing is the most common way ankles get hurt in basketball, and a previous ankle sprain was the biggest risk factor in one study. If you've sprained an ankle before, ask your athletic trainer about taping or bracing. If your ankle or knee hurts, stop and go back to two-foot shots.
Clear landing spot.
Feel it
It should feel like your normal jumper off one leg: a short push off the takeoff foot, the other knee up in front, your body drifting a little away from the defender while your head, shoulders and shooting arm still go up toward the rim. The ball comes out high, the follow-through holds, and you land quiet and then get the other foot down. If the landing feels like a stumble, the fade was too big.
Fix-its
- Shots fall short You're fading too far or not using your legs. Cut the drift, push harder off the takeoff foot and finish the follow-through. Move closer until it reaches easily.
- Shoulders fall back and the shot goes flat Send your head and shoulders forward and up toward the rim as you release, and lift the arm to about 45 to 60 degrees for more arc.
- Wobbly or stiff one-leg landing Land soft with knee and hip bending and knee over toes, then get the other foot down. Go back to the no-ball single-leg hop drill until the landing is steady.
- Takeoff foot changes from rep to rep Pick the foot opposite your shooting hand and walk through the turn and takeoff slowly without a ball until it's automatic.
- Called for traveling or a foul Keep the pivot foot still until you rise and get the ball out before any foot comes back down. Bring the knee up in front of you, not out toward the defender.
Drill
- Two-foot jump shot warm-up: start about 9 ft from the basket, 10 attempts; after 5 makes in a row move to 12 ft, then 15 ft.
- Balance and landing, no ball: two-foot hops landing softly first, then stationary single-leg hops and single-leg forward hops with a held landing on your takeoff foot, knee over toes. Injury-prevention work like this is recommended at least 2 to 3 times a week, and balance programs of at least 3 months are recommended, especially if you've sprained an ankle before.
- Close-range fade: a few feet from the rim, no defender, rise off your takeoff foot with the knee up, a small fade and a high release, 10 attempts. Use the same rule: 5 makes in a row with controlled landings before you move back.
- From the post: back to the basket at the mid or long post, one dribble, turn and rise into the one-leg fade. Work both sides of the floor and only add distance when every landing is clean.
- Add a defender: passive hand up first, then a live contest. Only go live once the landing holds up at that distance.
Sources
- theScore (Blake Murphy) — Unrivaled: Dirk Nowitzki's fadeaway jumpshot (no date on page)
- ESPN (Tim MacMahon) — Dirk Nowitzki sees Nikola Jokić's Sombor Shuffle (2023)
- ESPN (Tim MacMahon) — How Dirk Nowitzki fine-tuned his game on the path to 30,000 points (2017)
- Okazaki & Rodacki — Increased Distance of Shooting on Basketball Jump Shot, J Sports Sci Med (2012)
- Hal Wissel via Coach's Clipboard — Shooting: Correcting Errors
- Hal Wissel via Coach's Clipboard — Basic Lead-Up Shooting Drills
- Padua et al. — NATA Position Statement: Prevention of ACL Injury, J Athl Train (2018)
- Kaminski et al. — NATA Position Statement: Conservative Management and Prevention of Ankle Sprains in Athletes, J Athl Train (2013)
- 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)
- NBA — Official Rules, Rule 10: Violations and Penalties (Sec. XIII Traveling)
- NBA — Official Rules, Rule 12: Fouls and Penalties
- FIBA — Tough Calls, Regular Season Week 10 (2023-24), quoting Art. 25.2.1
Last checked 2026-10-30.