Self Alley-Oop: Basketball technique, drills and fixes

A self alley-oop is a lob to yourself: you throw the ball off the backboard, jump, catch it in midair and finish at the rim, usually with a dunk, before you land. It combines the alley-oop catch with a dunk, it is a move for elite athletes, and the rules care where you throw the ball and where you catch it. The camera reads your jump and landing, not the ball.

Set up

Build this last. You should already dunk comfortably off a plain jump (see One-Hand Dunk and Two-Hand Dunk) and catch a lob in the air (see Alley-Oop) before you try it.

Dunk first, then oop.

Use your own backboard, not the floor. In the NBA, FIBA and NCAA rulebooks, throwing the ball to the floor is a dribble, so if you have already ended your dribble, bouncing it off the floor and catching it again is a double dribble. If you haven't dribbled yet, that bounce is simply your dribble.

Glass, not floor.

Know why the backboard toss is legal. NBA: you may be first to touch your own pass once it touches your backboard. FIBA: throwing the ball against the backboard and regaining control is not a dribble. NCAA women's rules: a ball touching the thrower's own backboard is not part of a dribble. NCAA men's and high school (NFHS): we couldn't verify the current wording, so check your rulebook or league.

The toss

Start beside the rim, not under it, and throw the ball high off the glass.

Beside the rim, high off the glass.

Throw it so it comes back off the glass toward you, beside or in front of the rim, not down onto the ring. NBA: touching any ball above the ring inside the cylinder, or any ball on its way down with a chance to score, is basket interference. FIBA: goaltending applies only to a shot, but grabbing the basket and playing the ball is still basket interference.

Off the glass, away from the ring.

Watch the ball off the glass and go up to meet it. Matching your jump to your own toss is the hard part, and only practice reps build that timing.

Meet it in the air.

Dunk

Take off the way you already dunk: off one foot (One-Hand Dunk) or off two (Two-Hand Dunk).

Catch it with both hands, arms extended. Don't bring the ball down to your chest; keep it high, the same as on a putback.

Arms long, ball high.

Finish before you land: dunk it in the same motion as the catch.

Catch and finish in one motion.

Let go of the rim. NBA: deliberately hanging on it is a technical foul (and a fine) unless you're avoiding injury. FIBA: hanging so the ring holds your weight is a technical, unless it's a brief grab after a dunk or to prevent injury.

If the catch is off, don't force the dunk. Land with the ball: in the NBA and FIBA your first step is the first foot down after you gained control, and you get two. The NBA lets you dribble again after a pass that touched your own backboard; FIBA's exceptions don't include it, so if you had already dribbled, pass or shoot.

No forced finish.

Land

Land on both feet when you can. One-leg landings give higher impact forces and less knee and hip bend than two-leg landings.

Two feet down.

Land softly, bending your knees and hips, with your knees over your toes, not caving in.

Soft, knees over toes.

Bend as you touch down, not after. Landing is the most common way ankles get hurt in basketball, and in a video study of basketball ACL injuries the injury came 17 to 50 milliseconds after foot contact.

Absorb on contact.

Feel it

You throw the ball high off the glass from beside the rim and see it come back out toward you, not down onto the ring. You go up to it, take it in both hands with your arms long and throw it down without pulling it to your chest. Then you touch down on two feet with your knees and hips giving, not locked.

Fix-its

You bounce it off the floor after picking up your dribble That's a double dribble in NBA, FIBA and NCAA rules. Toss it off your own backboard instead.
The toss drops onto the ring or you catch it over the ring In the NBA that's basket interference. Start beside the rim and throw it high off the glass so it comes back out to you.
You pull the ball down before finishing Catch with both hands, arms extended, and go straight to the rim. Rehearse it with the putback drills below.
You hang on the rim after the dunk Let go once the ball is through. Hanging is a technical in both NBA and FIBA unless it's to avoid injury (FIBA also allows a brief grab after a dunk).
Stiff or one-foot landing Land on both feet if you can, bend knees and hips as you touch down, knees over toes. Stop the dunk reps when your landings get stiff.

Drill

Landing practice: two-foot jumps, landing softly with knees and hips bent and knees over toes. Make it part of a warm-up 2 to 3 times a week and make it harder only while your technique stays clean.
Putback with a bounce: stand to the side of the rim, throw the ball high off the backboard, jump and rebound it with both hands, keep your arms straight, land, then go straight back up and score off the glass. 3 sets of 10, alternating sides; make one before you switch sides.
Putback without a bounce: the same toss, but score before you come down. 3 sets of 10, alternating sides. This is the self alley-oop finished with a lay-in.
Self alley-oop dunk: switch the lay-in for a dunk only once you dunk comfortably and your landings stay soft. Keep sets short and stop when the landings get stiff.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-31.