It's Easier to Dunk Off One Leg

[3ball]

Everyone is aware of this right?

That's why when guys get old, you see them abandoning the two-foot dunks and resorting to the Lisa Leslie, Vlade Divac-style dunks.

Look at Jordan... When he was old as a Wizard, he rarely did the lean-in tomahawk dunk that he popularized - he opted for the one-legged dunk.

This is standard knowledge for ballplayers and I was wondering how many people in the forum were aware of this.

[dubeta]

You're wrong, some people jump one legged some people jump two legged

Vince, Blake Griffin, MJ were all 2 legged jumpers, they couldnt get up as high one legged as they could two legged

[SamuraiSWISH]

Who cares? LeBron's one leg power is like jets on an F-15 Eagle. Nigguh plants that thick strong leg, and then exploded sky rocketing into the sky with a head of steam. Even with all that mileage on his impressive frame.

[oarabbus]

http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/54680832.jpg

[Angel Face]

You can't tell. Some people have a harder time jumping off one leg than two and vice versa. For me I find it easier to jump using two legs.

[livingby3's]

Jrich iirc did pretty bad jumping off one leg in his dunk contest. Announcers addressed him as a two legged jumper, who's not comfortable jumping off one feet. I think it all depends on individuals

[Smook A.]

Not everyone can jump easier off of one leg. Guys like Dominique Wilkins, Jason Richardson, Vince Carter, and Blake Griffin jump higher off of 2 feet. In one of the dunk contests Jason Richardson was in, he tried attempting a dunk off of 1 foot and didn't get as high as he did with 2 feet.

[3ball]

You guys are all talking about guys that are in their prime... of COURSE Jordan and Dominique were great two-foot leapers in their prime and probably jumped higher than way in their prime... duuuh..

But trust me guys, you won't see Dr. J trying to dunk off two feet as a 63 year old... it MUST be off one leg.

For me personally, as I got older, I noticed how much easier it was to dunk by going off one leg after a run-up to get momentum.

Two-foot jumping requires gathering yourself and then exploding up with no momentum to help - it just requires more effort and extra exertion... When you are young, you put forth the extra effort without noticing or thinking about it... But as you get older, it gets harder and harder to put forth the extra exertion, and only then do you notice how much harder two-foot dunking is.

I know tons of guys were two-foot dunkers in their prime, but not when they got old... i'm one of these guys.. i used to be a two-footed dunker primarily... not anymore.. When Jordan came back as a Wizard, you saw that he didn't do that lean-in dunk anymore... just too hard.

This is another cold-hard fact that we will probably have to agree to disagree on.

[Hoopz2332]

Jrich iirc did pretty bad jumping off one leg in his dunk contest. Announcers addressed him as a two legged jumper, who's not comfortable jumping off one feet. I think it all depends on individuals

Jrich looked god awful trying to jump off of one leg:oldlol:

[navy]

Holy shit you've really sunk this low? :oldlol:




It's easier for me to jump off two feet actually.

[Hoopz2332]

The Jrich struggle/one foot dunk @ 6:00 mins


Jason Richardson - 2002 NBA Slam Dunk Contest (Champion)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTM5u-Iu-x0&hd=1

even his run looked f'ed up:biggums:

@ 7:13 :lol:

[iznogood]

You're wrong.

[3ball]

when you are in your prime, you have what it takes to jump higher off two legs if you have that capability (for example, like J Richardson).

but once you get old, this changes.

like i said guys... we'll have to agree to disagree on this one..

even vince carter dunks off one leg more now that he's older.

and assuming he gets enough playing time for us to witness, you'll see JRich dunk more and more off one leg as he gets older... remember 3ball when you see it.

[3ball]

See the "White Men Can't Jump" scene where Woody Harrelson makes a bet with Snipes and is trying to dunk on a court by the side of the road... He's going off of ONE LEG... because it's easier for most people.

So for those itt bringing up players that jump well off two legs - those guys are the EXCEPTION... they are the minority... and regardless, once they get really old, they will be trying to dunk off one leg, trust me.

And most guys when they first start dunking, or are first learning to dunk or attempting to get a dunk, do so off of ONE LEG.

Go to any playground in America where some guy is trying to get one down.... they will most likely be trying to do it off one leg... :confusedshrug:

[iznogood]

In my opinion jumping of 2 legs is actually easier. It allows you to jump closer to the basket since it's easier to begin vertical motion from horizontal when both feet are established. That means the horizontal distance one needs to travel in order to dunk is shorter when somebody is jumping off 2 foot since he can take off at steeper angle.

As for beginners, I think it's fairly important what your athletic background is. For somebody that has played volleyball, dunking of 2 feet will be much easier since they've been used to that movement.

[oarabbus]

thread backfire

[3ball]

In my opinion jumping of 2 legs is actually easier. It allows you to jump closer to the basket since it's easier to begin vertical motion from horizontal when both feet are established. That means the horizontal distance one needs to travel in order to dunk is shorter when somebody is jumping off 2 foot since he can take off at steeper angle.

As for beginners, I think it's fairly important what your athletic background is. For somebody that has played volleyball, dunking of 2 feet will be much easier since they've been used to that movement.
you are in the minority... because most people trying to dunk for the first time, attempt to do so off of one leg.

go to any gym, playground or rec center and you will see that this is the case.

there is a reason why most people attempt get their first dunk off one leg... it's easier for most people... this is a widespread fact that is easily observable.

it's simply a greater athletic achievement to dunk off two legs - for a minority of people it's actually easier (until they get old, then they will find that one-legged jumping is easier), but for most, it's much easier to dunk off one leg.
.

[DukeDelonte13]

You guys are all talking about guys that are in their prime... of COURSE Jordan and Dominique were great two-foot leapers in their prime and probably jumped higher than way in their prime... duuuh..

But trust me guys, you won't see Dr. J trying to dunk off two feet as a 63 year old... it MUST be off one leg.

For me personally, as I got older, I noticed how much easier it was to dunk by going off one leg after a run-up to get momentum.

Two-foot jumping requires gathering yourself and then exploding up with no momentum to help - it just requires more effort and extra exertion... When you are young, you put forth the extra effort without noticing or thinking about it... But as you get older, it gets harder and harder to put forth the extra exertion, and only then do you notice how much harder two-foot dunking is.

I know tons of guys were two-foot dunkers in their prime, but not when they got old... i'm one of these guys.. i used to be a two-footed dunker primarily... not anymore.. When Jordan came back as a Wizard, you saw that he didn't do that lean-in dunk anymore... just too hard.

This is another cold-hard fact that we will probably have to agree to disagree on.

i agree with this.

[3ball]

This

Op can barely grab the net.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/p180x540/10365982_10203881636820792_6374383594081119593_n.j pg?oh=041bd29637a5bd9ecc212655e8dd87cd&oe=54BFA6FA&__gda__=1422616300_8cf4998c017a5cab45bfba707508883 f

:confusedshrug:

[iznogood]

it's simply a greater athletic achievement to dunk off two legs - for a minority of people it's actually easier (until they get old, then they will find that one-legged jumping is easier), but for most, it's much easier to dunk off one leg.
.
That's only true for the people who were able to dunk from one leg at some point. If somebody was never able to pull of the dunk off one leg this sure is not going to change when he gets older.

I'll agree more people jump off one leg, but I think it also has to do with the fact that a lot of people do it that way because they are used to the 1 leg jumping mechanic which is the same as it is for a lay up.

[Cocaine80s]

depends on how tall you are. short guys jump with 2 feet while taller guys jump one foot.


i doubt nate robinson will be dunking off one leg 10 years from now

[3ball]

depends on how tall you are. short guys jump with 2 feet while taller guys jump one foot.


i doubt nate robinson will be dunking off one leg 10 years from now
you'd be surprised... by the time nate gets to the point to where he can barely dunk at all, the one-legger (probably off a self-alley) will be his best option.

that's why guys that are first learning to dunk or girls (lisa leslie, candace parker) generally do so off one leg... it's the easiest way to get one down.

[Rake2204]

Oo, nice thread. I have a lot to say on this topic but I think it's mostly been covered so I think I'll keep it brief.

3Ball, I think your altered stance is much more agreeable. I think there's a big difference between "It's easier to dunk off one leg" and "It's easier for most people to dunk off one leg".

For non-super high risers, I'm a big believer in pushing them to develop a comfort with one-foot dunking before two. There's currently a trio of high school guards I work with who insist on dunking only off two feet. They can throw lobs to themselves and poke off two feet and all that stuff, but they look awful when trying to flush off one. I believe that's to their detriment, for it severely cuts down on virtually any in-game dunking opportunity for these guys due to their lack of size and mediocre speed. If they want to dunk in a game, it's going to have to come while they're being chased and if they try to plant with two feet, they're likely going to get tracked down.

That said, as you mentioned, there's certainly a fair amount of exceptions to the rule. With guys like Richardson, I sort of feel like instead of resorting to one-foot dunking, he might just stop dunking altogether, but I'm not totally confident about that. It's just, even in his prime, his one-handers were squeakers in many instances.

Maybe if everyone were raised to dunk off one foot instead of two, everyone would have a longer dunking prime. That could make sense to me - that the two-foot dunking might go first. But for guys like Richardson, the one-foot dunking hardly ever existed in the first place, so he doesn't have a great dunking ability to fall back on in that regard. At least the likes of Carter and Jordan had both feet established pretty well, so they had the one-footers to fall back on. So in that regard, once again, I think I'd agree that when a player has the ability to do both, the one footers likely stand the test of time much better.

Personally, I started dunking off one foot, then discovered how cool two-foot dunking felt toward the end of my sophomore year and almost entirely lost the ability to jump off one. It was a big mistake - lost nearly all in-game dunking ability because of it. Once I forced myself to re-learn the rhythm to one-foot dunking, it was absolutely easier to flush that way than with two.

[Dro]

He said when you get OLDER......and from everything I've seen from anybody who balls basically whether professionally or not, jump off one leg the older they get......And guys who don't have much athletic ability in the 1st place can still sometimes dunk still off one leg but you never see them dunk off 2, think of Dan Majerle.....

Now a guy like Reggie Miller usually dunked off 2 because he's not the most athletic but he's long and it was just easier for him to stretch out and dunk off of 2..But unless you have to stretch like that to dunk, its probably easier for you to dunk off 1 leg........

Ray Allen, when's the last time you saw him dunk off 2 feet?

Now in their prime, it can be easier for certain people to dunk off 2 feet because it gives you more stability and balance and power to go up. But when you get older, you start to lose all of those things anyway little by little so it makes sense that most players dunk off 1 leg the older they get......

[thefatmiral]

I agree. the extra momentum is easier then just leaping with only leg strength. I do it when I want to dunk on shorter rims at the elementary playground. short and cant jump. dont judge

[navy]

Its like most posters in the thread aren't reading......He said when you get OLDER......and from everything I've seen from anybody who balls basically whether professionally or not, jump off one leg the older they get......And guys who don't have much athletic ability in the 1st place can still sometimes dunk still off one leg.......Look at Ray Allen, when's the last time you saw him dunk off 2 feet?

Now in their prime, it can be easier for certain people to dunk off 2 feet because it gives you more stability and balance and power to go up. But when you get older, you start to lose all of those things anyway little by little so it makes sense that most players dunk off 1 leg the older they get......
Except that isnt true either. Older people especially those not in the best shape will have a harder time running to build the momentum that would be needed for a one legged dunk. It depends on the person.

The reason I used two legs was because I always had a hard time planting with the running motion.

3ball just had an agenda (what's new) and will stop at nothing to try to push it.

[Rake2204]

One leg requires far more balance and your legs/feet must be in near 100% shape. Plus there's a bit of a high risk of slippage/falling (especially outside) with one leg jumping, while two legs is more of a secure/safer one.Not to be contrarian, but two-foot dunking has been way more unstable for me in terms of slipping or falling. That was part of my in-game problem. If I was in the open floor during my exclusive two-foot dunking era, if a defender didn't track me down, there was a good chance I was going to slip by trying to plant so hard on the run, eliminating any and all momentum I had. Also, one time I planted with two-feet on a sweaty spot and destroyed myself. But that's just another reason why I made a concerted effort to make one-foot dunking my primary, for it was much more reliable for me in game situation.

Off one foot, the only real risk I've ever run is grabbing the rim with two-hands but not hanging on, resulting one of those crazy mid-air face, first falls. I learned my lesson pretty early in that regard.

[MP.Trey]

I agree personally I find one leg jumping much easier but it's different for everybody. If you told Nate Robinson it's easier to dunk off one leg he'd probably flat out laugh in your face.

[andgar923]

Naturally, not everybody is the same.

But as a general idea I agree.

It may appear to be easier jumping off two feet when you're younger, but it takes more to gather oneself for whatever reason.

Logic might tell you that two legs= more strength

But there's the whole timing and lifting part. It's even worse when you have a bad knee. And of course, it can at times make one heavier when jumping off two feet (don't ask me why, but you'll know when you get older).

Im still trying to wrap my head around it to be honest, but I sorta agree with the OP in a 'general' sense. Im older, out of shape, with a bad knee (well... two now) and I just tried to jump in both versions... it is harder for me to jump off two if I go for a dunk style jump. It takes more of me to gather with two legs.

You'd have to be old to understand.

Yeah.. I was a good leaper in my prime btw.