Tomahawk: Basketball technique, drills and fixes

A dunk is a shot thrown down through the basket. In a tomahawk you take the ball back behind your head as you rise, then bring it straight over your head and down through the rim, with one hand or two. You need enough jump to fit the wind-up in before you come down, so build it on a solid plain dunk. We read your takeoff knee drive and, most of all, a bent-knee, absorbed landing; the cock-back 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 tomahawk needs extra time in the air for the ball to go back and come over.

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. For a one-foot jump on a right-hand tomahawk: right foot, left foot, jump off the left. For a two-foot jump: one step, then land both feet together and go straight up. NBA and FIBA allow both; check your league's wording.

Right, left, up.

On a one-foot jump, drive the knee on your dunking-hand side up hard as you leave the floor.

Knee and ball rise together.

Dunk

As you rise, take the ball up and back behind your head. If you can't control it in one hand back there, keep both hands on it: a two-hand tomahawk is still a tomahawk.

Up and back.

Bring the ball straight forward over your head and throw it down through the rim.

Over the top, then 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

Land on both feet if you can. One-leg landings load the knee harder and bend it less.

Two feet down.

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 ball stays locked in your hand or hands as it goes back behind your head, and you still feel high when it comes over the top. The landing feels quiet: knees and hips bend together and you stay balanced under the basket instead of crashing down stiff-legged or on one foot.

Fix-its

You run out of air before the ball comes over Go back to a plain dunk until it's easy. Add the wind-up only when you finish plain dunks with room to spare.
The ball slips out on the cock-back Grip it hard and keep it close until you rise. If one hand can't hold it behind your head, do the two-hand version.
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. One-foot jump off the foot opposite your dunking hand. Walk it, jog it, then go full speed.
Hanging on the rim or landing stiff on one foot Release the rim straight away and 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.
Footwork walk-through: from a short approach, gather, take your two steps and jump straight up with the ball. No dunk, just the takeoff and a soft landing.
Cock-back jumps: jump under the rim, take the ball back behind your head and bring it over the top before you land. No dunk; land soft on two feet.
Plain dunks: one-hand or two-hand dunks from your approach until they're comfortable.
Tomahawk attempts: a few at a time, then rest. Stop the set when your landings get stiff or sloppy, or anything hurts.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-31.