The finger roll is a specialized type of

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

layup A layup in basketball is a two-point shot attempt made by leaping from below, laying the ball up near the basket, and using one hand to bounce it off the backboard and into the basket. The motion and one-handed reach distinguish it from a Jump sh ...

shot where the ball is rolled off the tips of the player's fingers. The advantage of the finger roll is that the ball can travel high in the air over a defender that might otherwise block a regular jump shot or dunk, while the spin applied by the rolling over the fingers will carry the ball to the basket off the backboard. The shot was pioneered by center

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a Center (basketball), center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 yea ...

in the 1960s. The finger roll is notorious for being very difficult to master, and few players use it as their primary shot. Another disadvantage is that the shot is one-handed, and therefore harder to protect the ball while executing. One famous exception was

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

forward

George Gervin George Gervin ( ; born April 27, 1952), nicknamed "the Iceman", is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Virginia Squires, ...

, who turned the shot into a nearly unstoppable weapon when he led the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) in scoring between 1978 and 1980. Although the finger roll is a very challenging shot it still has a high percentage of making the basket. Once there is opening down the lane for a layup, the finger roll is the most convenient due to distance away from the rim. If there is no defender guarding and trying to block the shot then it is hard to miss. The layup can help improve one's game because it can make it harder for defenders to defend by not knowing whether the offense is going for a finger roll or another layup.

References

External links

* {{Basketball Basketball terminology