Being able to finish around the basket in various ways is one of the most important skills to have as a basketball player. The Eurostep, made popular by Manu Ginobli and Dwayne Wade, is a new and rather unorthodox way of finishing a drive in the paint. During Game 3 of the NBA Finals, LeBron James executed the Eurostep perfectly, finishing a key fast break with an AND 1 layup. The reason why LeBron James’ Eurostep worked so well was the way he preceded the move with a quick and decisive in and out dribble.
The in and out dribble is the perfect setup move to the Eurostep. The point of the Eurostep is to change directions with each individual step on the path to making a layup. The first step in the Eurostep is meant to get the defender leaning in one direction so the next step in the opposite direction leaves you more open space to finish a layup. Think of it as a crossover move but without using the dribble. Which brings us back to the in and out dribble pre-cursor. The in and out dribble works to further gets the defender leaning in the direction you want them to go in order to setup the Eurostep. Take a look at the video clip below of LeBron James performing a full speed right handed in and out dribble followed by right and left steps in different direction and topped off with an inside hand layup with contact. One heck of a move!
So get out there on the practice court and in your summer pickup games and try the in and out dribble – Eurostep combo in any 1on1 fastbreak situations.
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Basketball is a game of deception. If you can get the defensive player to believe you are going to do one thing and then you do the other you have the advantage (shot fake, in and out, crossover, etc). I don’t think that players take enough time to really work on selling their moves. It is all about the details.