What Is An Alley Oop In Basketball? How To Master This Exciting Play

You have probably heard the term “Alley Oop” being thrown around on the basketball court and wondering what it means. You are in the right place! Read on to learn What Is An Alley Oop In Basketball? and everything else about it.

Definition of a alley oop

Alley Opp is when a basketball player passes the ball to a teammate close to the basket, which then the teammate – already in mid-air, grabs and dunks immediately. The perfect example was when 6’1” Allen Iverson’s converted an impressive Alley Oop against St. John’s.

Alley-oops have dominated slam dunk competitions. One of the best ones was by Phoenix Suns’ Amare Stoudemire when he converted it off a soccer-style header from his teammate, Steve Nash. The term was derived from a traditional cry by French circus acrobats before leaping, called Allez-hop.

Also Check our Guide about: What Is The High Post In Basketball?

How do you spell alley-oop basketball?

Alley-oop, allez-oop

Examples

The world watched Lorenzo Charles’s game-winning shot in 1883 during the championship game. Some believe it was an alley-oop, but it wasn’t. It was an air-ball by his teammate Dereck Whittenberg, and Charles got lucky and became the player of the moment.

However, that historical moment is still on the lips of many and is one famous alley-oops in the NBA. You can find a ton more on social media and YouTube. YouTube, in particular, has been very resourceful to sports fans worldwide.

There are several basketball-focused channels on YouTube where you can find the latest news, highlights, and updates. However, if you are looking for the best compilation of alley-oops, there are so many of them available, including “Best Alley-Oop Dunks of All Time,” which is one of the most interesting ones that I watched.

The 9-minute-long video is impressive to watch, and you get to see some of the best alley-oops caught on camera. It’s worth watching if you want to learn more about the play and alley-oop, especially if you need tips before trying alley-oop yourself. It’s also an excellent video for basketball fans looking to satisfy their curiosity.

The best alley oops duos of all time

An alley-oop play takes two teammates to execute successfully. We’ve seen some great duos in basketball perform alley-oops, to everyone’s amazement, and bring the glory. Here are some of the best alley-oops in the history of basketball.

Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are among the most sort after duos for the play and some of the greatest alley-oop duos of all time. Dwayne Wade and LeBron James shined on other plays in basketball, and they were considered the dominating duos. Together, they have pulled off some incredible alley-oops while playing together.

Penny Hardaway and Shaquille O’Neal also paired with Orlando Magic to complete some alley-oops and deserve mention. However, according to several fans, Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton made it to the top of the list as the greatest alley-oop duos of all time.

Kemp and Payton had great chemistry on the court while playing for Seattle SuperSonics. Other duos have been coming up, but none has reached the level of Kemp and Payton at the alley-oop. Wade and King James had been shining in all seasons as the dynamic duo before Wade’s retirement in 2020.

If you watched the YouTube clip and searched for the most recent ones with some terrific alley-oops, then you are set to go. We hope you now know what alley-oop is and can learn and perfect it. You and your playing buddies could be the next internet sensational alley-oop duos.