The Tape · basketball
Trainer Sibelle Zambie · 5 min workout · 112s clip
Get a plan built around you — your age, level, space, and equipment.
Coached by trainers like Sibelle Zambie, on your schedule.
Master the half-spin to deceive taller defenders, using a precise pivot and eye-fake to create space for a quick, decisive layup finish.
The drill
Attack paint → inside foot dribble → half spin with eye fake to opposite side → dribble with outside foot → finish layup.
Let's break down one of my favorite moves, the half-spin. This is great against a taller or lengthier defender. Step one is to attack the paint hard like you normally would as if you're going for a layup. Step two, once we get to the middle of the paint, we're going to use our pivot foot as our inside foot step. On this dribble, this is where we're going to land. Now we're going to put together the half-spin. Off our inside foot dribble, we're going to half-spin and open up to the opposite hoop. As we're turning our body, dribble the ball the same time that outside foot hits the ground. Time this up: inside dribble, outside foot. Inside, outside. The final step is after our half-spin, we're going to go finish our layup. Putting it all together, our half-spin looks like this: inside, outside, finish. A big key to our half-spin is our eyes. Make sure on this pivot we sell with our eyes to the opposite side.
Is this drill for you?
For novice scorers (Level 2) learning the half-spin - attack the paint, inside-foot dribble, half-spin open, finish past taller defenders.
Variations: Sell the spin with your eyes to the opposite side.
In a game: The half-spin uses the shot-blocker's length against him - spin off the pivot and the rim is open.
5 minutes; needs a hoop.
Harder: Jalen brunson screen series →
Blueprints
The Blueprints app turns drills like this into a training plan made for you.