A power layup is a layup taken off two feet. The player dribbles in, gathers with a jump stop close to the basket, chins the ball with the elbows out, then goes straight up off both feet and lays the ball off the glass. A one-foot layup goes up and forward; a power layup goes up.
Why coaches use it
Because it is balanced and hard to knock off. A defender beside a one-foot layup can bump the player in the air and take the shot away. A player who takes off from two feet, with the ball protected under his chin, can absorb that contact and still finish. PGC Basketball calls the jump-stop layup the most powerful layup a young player can learn.
It is also the finish of most post moves, including the drop step and the up-and-under, which end with the same two-foot jump.
How it is done
- Jump stop under control. Both feet at once, close to the block, square to the basket.
- Chin the ball. Two hands, elbows out.
- Straight up. Off both feet, ball high on the way up.
- Off the glass. Aim at the top corner of the square.
A pump fake before the jump is a common option. Coach’s Clipboard adds a “power shot” drill in which two defenders with their arms high may bump the shooter but not block him.
Our power layup drill uses a cone outside the block to mark the jump-stop spot, with a line on each wing. It is rated beginner and tagged from U10. Our guide to layup drills puts it after the basic layup and before the reverse.