A reverse layup goes under the rim and finishes on the opposite side from where you started. With your back to the defender, your body and the rim sit between them and the ball, so a shot-blocker has a hard time reaching it. It is a harder finish than a regular layup, so save it for when a normal layup would likely get blocked. The camera reads your takeoff and landing; it cannot see the ball or the rim.
Set up
Attack with speed along the baseline or at an angle, with the defender on your hip. Straight-line drives make the reverse harder.
Defender on my hip.
Win the step to the baseline side of the rim protector so the rim ends up between them and your finish.
Rim is my screen.
Gather the ball cleanly. Under NBA rules you get two steps after you gain control on the move; FIBA, college and high-school rules word this differently, so check your league.
Finish
Carry the ball under the rim with your head up and eyes on the backboard, not on the ball.
Eyes up on the glass.
Take off from the foot nearest the baseline. From the left side that is your left foot, with the right knee driving up; mirror it from the right side.
Same feet as a normal layup on that side.
Extend and finish with the hand on the side you are finishing: right hand on the right side, left hand on the left. Lay it high off the glass, aiming at the top corner of the square.
Up and over, high on the glass.
Release before your feet come back to the floor.
Land softly on both feet, bending your knees and hips, with your knees over your toes.
Quiet landing.
Feel it
Your back is to the defender and the rim is between you and them. You go far enough under that you can reach the far side without stretching, your eyes stay on the square, and the ball leaves your hand softly with no extra flick. Then a quiet, bent-knee landing.
Fix-its
- The ball comes up short or hits the bottom of the rim You got caught short. Carry it far enough under the rim before you leave the floor, then get the ball high on the glass.
- You still get blocked The defender was not on your hip. Win the baseline-side step first so the rim screens them; if you can't, take a different finish.
- You lose track of where you are under the rim Use the lane blocks and lane lines to orient yourself, and don't let the defender pin you to the baseline.
- Too much spin or a fancy flick Keep the release simple and soft. Extra flicks make a hard shot harder.
- Stiff or wobbly landing Land softly on both feet, bend your knees and hips, and keep your knees over your toes.
Drill
- Mikan spins: alternate sides right under the hoop, jump straight up and flick the ball off the backboard square. Keep the pace quick.
- Add reverse layups from both sides to your normal layup lines, with the baseline-foot takeoff each time.
- Drive reverse: put cones at the elbow and near the block, outside the paint. Use a dribble move, drive outside both cones, then finish on the far side. Move the cones to change the angle.
- Once both sides are clean, add a partner trailing on your hip and finish with the rim between you.
Sources
- Basketball For Coaches — How to Shoot a Reverse Layup in Basketball (4-Step Guide)
- Coach's Clipboard (James A. Gels) — Lay-ups (reverse lay-up section)
- NBA — Official Rulebook, Rule 10 Section XIII Traveling (2026-27)
- Padua et al. — NATA Position Statement: Prevention of ACL Injury, J Athl Train (2018)
Last checked 2026-10-26.