The spin layup is a spin move on the drive that ends in a layup: you reverse pivot around a defender who is on you, keep the ball protected, and finish on the far side of them. It joins two skills, so learn the spin move and both-hand layups first. Most of the risk is in the footwork: the spin happens during the dribble or on your first step after the pick-up, never on extra steps.
Set up
Attack the basket under control, on your fingertips, head up, ball low and close. Use the spin when the defender is right in front of you or on your hip.
Defender close, eyes up.
Start the spin with your inside foot (the one nearer the defender) forward. Your outside leg then has less ground to cover, which gives the defender less time to tip the ball from behind.
Spin
Reverse pivot on the ball of that front foot, knees bent a little. Don't go flat-footed or onto your heels, and don't let the foot slide.
Turn on the ball of the foot.
Pull the ball hard and close around your body with your hand on top of it, keeping your body between the ball and the defender.
Ball tight, hand on top.
Come out of the spin dribbling with your other hand, already heading for the basket. The spin turns your back to the court for a moment, so get your eyes up as soon as you come around.
Spin, eyes up, go.
Finish
Pick the ball up with both hands, close to your body, with a strong grip.
Take your two steps: outside foot first, then inside foot, and jump off the inside foot. Choose control over speed on these steps.
One, two, up.
Drive the knee on your shooting-hand side up as the ball goes up, and take the ball up with two hands. Finish with your outside hand on the side the spin took you to.
Keep your off arm up as a shield against a reaching defender. It is an arm bar, not a push for space.
Shield, don't shove.
Aim for the top corner of the square on the backboard and lay it softly off the glass. Go up strong; don't fade away from the contact.
Soft off the glass.
Land softly: bend your knees and hips, knees over your toes. In traffic you may get bumped in the air, so expect the landing and absorb it.
Quiet, bent-knee landing.
Stay legal
During a spin dribble you have no pivot foot yet, because you are still dribbling. The risk there is a carry: under NBA rules, a hand under the ball that carries it or makes it pause is a violation.
Count your steps from the pick-up, not from the spin. Under NBA and FIBA rules you get two steps after gathering. Step one is the first foot or feet to touch down after you have the ball, so a foot already on the floor as you pick it up does not count.
Spin on the pick-up instead (the defender is on your hip, you plant and turn around them): that spin happens on step one. Land on one foot and only that foot can pivot. Keep it on the floor through the turn, and once you lift it to jump the ball must be gone before it lands again. Land on both feet together and either foot can be the pivot.
Plant, turn, up.
Don't hop on the same foot after you pick up, and don't add a step after the spin to find your balance. High school and college rules are worded differently, so check your league.
Feel it
A good spin layup feels tight and low through the turn, with your hand on top of the ball and your body between it and the defender. You come out with your eyes up and the ball already in your new hand, then your two steps feel like a normal layup: one, two, up. If you need an extra step to get your balance, the spin was too wide or too fast.
Fix-its
- You travel after the spin Count from the pick-up: two steps, then up. If you spin on the pick-up, keep the pivot foot planted on the ball of the foot, and release before it comes back down. Drill the footwork slowly with no defender first.
- The ball gets tipped from behind or carried Start with your inside foot forward, pull the ball close around your body, and keep your hand on top of it.
- You come out of the spin off balance or out of control Stay on the ball of your pivot foot with knees bent and make the spin tight. Slow the approach down; control matters more than speed on the steps.
- You jump off the wrong foot or finish with the wrong hand Go back to the one-step and two-step layup progressions on that side: outside foot, inside foot, jump off the inside foot, outside hand finishes.
- You fade away from the contact or slam the ball off the glass Go up strong and straight to the rim with your off arm as a shield, aim for the top corner of the square and lay it in softly.
Drill
- Pivot base: 15 forward and 15 reverse pivots on each foot, on the ball of the foot, knees bent a little, pivot foot not sliding.
- Layup footwork on both sides: one-step layup, two-step layup, then one-dribble layup. Don't add the spin until the steps are automatic on each side.
- Spin at a cone or chair: make the spin right in front of it, come out with the other hand, pick up and take the two-step layup. Then attack back from the other direction with the other hand.
- Spin on the pick-up: a partner jogs on your hip as you drive. Pick up, plant one foot, reverse pivot around them and finish without moving the pivot foot.
- Live: spend about 10 minutes on the technique drills, then about 10 minutes of half-court 2-on-1 where you choose between the spin finish, a straight layup and the pass.
Sources
- Coach's Clipboard — Dribbling and Dribble Moves
- Coach's Clipboard — Basketball Footwork Fundamentals
- Coach's Clipboard — Lay-ups
- Kyle Ohman via Coach's Clipboard — Pro Advanced Basketball Guard Moves for Finishing Around the Basket
- Basketball For Coaches — Basketball Moves
- Basketball For Coaches — How to Do a Layup in Basketball (6-Step Guide)
- Jeff Haefner (Breakthrough Basketball) via ACTIVE.com — 5 Crossover Dribbling Techniques
- NBA — Official Rulebook 2026-27, Rule 10 (Dribble Section II; Traveling Section XIII)
- FIBA — Official Basketball Rules 2026, Art. 25 Travelling
- Padua et al. — NATA Position Statement: Prevention of ACL Injury, J Athl Train (2018)
Last checked 2026-10-30.