3 Basketball Finishing Moves For Elite Players

January 27, 2015

2 out of 3 of these basketball finishing moves did not even exist 15 years ago.

And I’m going to get this article started off on the right foot by explaining my favorite one.

How To Pro Hop

This move started in the NBA, hence the name, and now is something that most all players big and small should practice to help themselves finish in the paint.

Just Stretching After A Game

The reason that this move is effective is because you can cover alot of ground with it.

The best time to use it is when you penetrate to the basket and a help defender steps up to contest you.

Instead of trying to finish high over the defender simply jump past them using a pro hop and finish where there is no defense.

Of course that sounds alot easier than it is, but with practice it definitely can become instinctual.

Ok, lets get into exactly how to use this finishing move.

If you are penetrating with the basketball in your right hand then you should jump off our left foot and vice versa.

But the landing is the most important aspect of this finishing move.

You must land with both feet at the same time to avoid being called for a travel.

Watch as a referee explains why this move gets called as a travel so often.

So as you can see if the foot you jump off of is the first foot that hits the ground after the hop you will be called for a travel.

Ok, let's head over to the gym now and let me walk you through this move step by step:

Like any new basketball move you learn, you need to spend hours upon hours practicing the move before you even think about trying to do it in a game.

With that said here is a drill you can do to work on your pro hop. Use the buttons below to share this page and unlock the drill.

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Ok, lets get into #2 on our list of basketball finishing moves.

How To Euro Step

This finishing move is called the Euro Step because it was brought over to the NBA from European players.

I'm actually writing this from Europe right now and I can tell you that this is definitely something that is used here and I've seen so many players do this move over here and do it very well.

In the NBA I see players like James Harden, Dwyane Wade, and Manu Ginobili use this move all the time.

Here's a picture of D-Wade using it:

When you shoot a layup off of one foot you are allowed to take 2 steps. A Eurostep is basically when you use those two steps to fake in when direction, go around the defender in the other direction, and finish with a layup.

The first step is important as that is the step you will use to fake out the defense.

If the ball is in your right hand then you will first step with your right foot first and vice versa.

Make sure you step hard too, and wait for the defender to react. Once he does you are going to now step in the opposite direction and finish with a layup.

There are a few ways you can shoot the layup and you can even shoot a floater, but what I teach my players to do is to finish with a “Goofy Reverse.”

This is the easiest way due to the fact that you are on balance and it is more natural feeling.

To see the exact footwork check out the video below.

The better you get with this move the more you will find yourself using your 2 steps to maneuver around help defenders to get layups.

Here is the complete breakdown:

So that's it for the Eurostep, now lets check out a move that Hakeem Olajuwon made famous and Rajon Rondo loves to use.

How To Rondo

I call this "The Rondo" but my teammate who played at the University of Milwaukee said his coach in college loved this move and taught it to his players and they called it "The Donut."

I'm going to stick with "The Rondo" though.

This is basically an unorthodox shot fake.

It's the counter to a "Goofy Reverse."

There are few things that you must do to make this move work and they are:

Be a threat to finish the Goofy Reverse.
Attack at full speed.
Stop on a dime.
Use the ball as the fake.
Pivot back quickly into your finish.

Here is a quick look at Rondo using this as it is one of his favorite basketball finishing moves.

Here is the complete breakdown:

Ok, so I hope you enjoyed this article and I hope you take these 3 basketball finishing moves and start practicing them in the gym.

Of course, these are not the only options when trying to finish inside but these are 3 of my favorites and ones that can be developed and utilized over time.

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