Types of dunks to take inspiration from

Dunks split into three families: power dunks (two-handed, tomahawk, stomp), acrobatic dunks (windmill, 360, between the legs) and in-game dunks (alley-oop, tip-in, reverse). The show changes, but the entry requirement is always the same: get your hand above a rim set at 3.05 meters, with the ball under control.

Below you'll find the types one by one, how hard they actually are, and what it physically takes to get there.

What a dunk is and where it comes from

A dunk means putting the ball into the basket from above, with your hand clearing the rim. Basketball was invented in 1891, but for decades the dunk wasn't part of the game: it spread from the 1950s and '60s on, as players got taller and athleticism developed.

From there it became a piece of pop culture, driven by players who turned it into a language: Julius Erving, Michael Jordan, LeBron James. Today it's the most recognisable move in basketball even for people who don't follow it.

Power dunks

These are the first ones you learn, and the most useful in a game. Not spectacular, but the hardest to contest.

1. Two-handed dunk: the basic one. Ball gripped with both hands, takeoff, dunk. Maximum control, minimum risk.
2. One-handed dunk: with a single hand. It needs less height than the two-handed version, because the arm extends further.
3. Two-handed power dunk: two hands but off a running drive, often through contact. You need trunk strength to absorb the contact in the air.
4. Tomahawk dunk: the ball is taken back and above the head with one hand, then brought down in a hatchet motion. Demands good control of the back in extension.
5. Stomp dunk: a vertical, violent dunk with both hands, from a standstill or close to it.
6. Stretch dunk: arms fully extended, ball dunked at the highest point you can reach.

Acrobatic dunks

These are the dunk contest ones. They need longer flight time, so more vertical, plus a level of body control in the air that you build separately.

1. Windmill dunk: the arm makes a full circle, windmill-style, before finishing.
2. Reverse dunk: you dunk coming from under the basket and finishing on the opposite side, back to the backboard.
3. Reverse windmill dunk: the windmill, done in reverse. One of the hardest there is.
4. Between the legs dunk: the ball passes between the legs in the air before being dunked.
5. Between-the-legs windmill: the two above combined. Requires serious flight time.
6. 360 dunk: a full body rotation during the jump.
7. Double-pump dunk: the ball is taken above the head and "pumped" twice before the dunk.
8. Statue of Liberty dunk: arm held high with the ball in one hand, still, before finishing. Less difficult than it looks, but spectacular.

In-game dunks

These come out of the play, not out of preparation. They're the ones you see most in a real game.

1. Alley-oop dunk: you catch the ball in the air from a teammate and dunk it without landing. It's all about takeoff timing, not maximum height.
2. Reverse alley-oop: same thing, but finishing on the opposite side of the basket.
3. Off-the-backboard alley-oop: a teammate bounces the ball off the backboard and you collect it in the air.
4. Self alley-oop: you throw it off the backboard (or the floor) yourself and take it back in the air.
5. Tip-in dunk: you grab a missed shot off the rebound and dunk it without bringing the ball back down. It's the dunk that depends more on timing than on centimeters.
6. Slam dunk on the run: a driving entry from the baseline or the sideline, one-foot takeoff, finish in flight.

One-foot or two-foot takeoff?

It isn't a detail — it changes the whole set of dunks available to you.

• One foot, on the run: converts horizontal speed into height. Gives you more vertical if you have a good approach, but less stability in the air — so fewer acrobatics.
• Two feet: slower to load, but more stable and more balanced in flight. It's the takeoff behind acrobatic dunks and tip-ins.

Almost everyone has a natural side. It's worth finding yours before you decide where to put months of training.

Before the dunk comes the number

The real question isn't "which dunk do I try", it's "how far am I from the rim". You need the distance between your standing reach with the arm extended and the 3.05 meters of the rim — plus a few centimeters to get the hand and the ball through.

The method we use at JHP is always the same: measure first, then train, then measure again. With the free jump test you upload a 2-second video and get your jump height in centimeters, calculated from flight time. The video never leaves your device. From there you know exactly how many centimeters separate you from the rim, and that number becomes the target of your training block.

The JHP programs for getting to the rim

• Jump Higher Program — 10 weeks of bodyweight jump work, with the progression already laid out session by session. The starting point. €60.
• Basket Advanced — the package built for basketball players: explosiveness, quickness and mobility. €80.
• Jumping Monster — 14 days of intensive plyometrics, 116 exercises. A short, dense block. €40.
• JHP Contrast Method — contrast training, for anyone who already has a strength base and wants to work on how fast they express it. €90.
• Knee Power — knee strengthening and jumper's knee. Anyone practising dunks racks up landings: worth protecting yourself. €40.
• JHP subscription — €99/year, 13 programs included, WhatsApp support, cancel anytime. Or browse all the courses.

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