Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell found himself in a difficult spot during a game against the Sacramento Kings. Midway through the fourth quarter, after a pick-and-roll, Mitchell drove to the top of the key but got cut off after picking up his dribble. Defender Kevin Huerter was close behind, and Domantas Sabonis blocked a potential pass to Jarrett Allen. With the shot clock winding down and limited options, Mitchell improvised, tossing the ball off the backboard to himself before leaping to complete a self-assisted dunk.
“There`s really no plan,” Mitchell explained later. “You`re caught, you have nowhere to go. You`re just trying to figure it out.”
Similarly, Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies improvised during a play-in game against the Golden State Warriors. Airborne with no clear shot, he threw the ball off the glass, caught it on the other side of the rim, and finished with a layup, reminiscent of an in-game Mikan drill.
The “self alley-oop” was once a rare and flashy spectacle, often associated with desperation plays by early 2000s legends. However, it has evolved beyond a simple highlight and is increasingly used strategically by the league`s most athletic and creative players. Its tactical roots actually trace back almost to the NBA`s beginnings.
For many fans, Tracy McGrady`s memorable self alley-oop during the 2002 All-Star Game was their first exposure to the move. McGrady capitalized on the All-Star game`s open style, throwing the ball off the glass from beyond the free-throw line and dunking uncontested.
Other high-flying players like Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant also famously used the move. But it wasn`t limited to aerial artists. Tim Duncan, known for his fundamental play, used it as a rookie in 1997 against Kevin Willis. Trapped and closely guarded, Duncan tossed the ball high off the backboard to create space for a simple two-handed slam. It was a pragmatic bailout, not a show-off move. Michael Jordan also employed the tactic for a layup with the Bulls in the mid-90s.
In contrast, Shaquille O`Neal`s self-oop during the 1996 Olympics was a clear display of dominance – a 300-pound force clowning an opponent on a fast break.
However, the true origin of using the backboard as a passing tool dates back to a critical moment in the NBA`s early history.
In Game 7 of the 1957 NBA Finals, with seconds left in double overtime, the St. Louis Hawks trailed the Boston Celtics. Player-coach Alex Hannum drew up a bold play: inbound the ball the full length of the court off the backboard, where Hawks star Bob Pettit would catch the rebound at the free-throw line and lay it in to force another overtime.
It came incredibly close to working.
Hannum successfully hit the backboard from 94 feet away, an impressive feat. The ball even grazed the rim, and Pettit was in position to catch and put it back, but the shot rolled off. “I should have made the shot,” Pettit was quoted later. “Alex`s pass was perfect.”
Though video footage exists, it only shows the moments after Pettit`s miss and the Celtics celebrating their first title. While not a self alley-oop, the play clearly demonstrated the potential for tactical backboard use beyond shooting. Decades later, in 2022, the Ohio Bobcats used a similar full-court backboard play to force overtime against the Michigan Wolverines. Today, stars are finding innovative, strategic ways to use the backboard for more than just highlights.
Celtics star Jaylen Brown`s self alley-oop layup earlier this season was practical, much like Duncan`s. Seeing an opening, Brown aborted his shot mid-air and turned it into a self-pass off the glass. His coach, Joe Mazzulla, wasn`t surprised, calling it “just a good play” that`s been made by great players and is entirely legal.
NBA officiating staff confirmed the play`s legality, even if not explicitly detailed in the rulebook. Monty McCutchen, NBA senior vice president of referee development, clarified that rules prevent a player from retrieving their own pass *unless* it hits the backboard or rim, after which anyone can touch it.
The increasing strategic use of the self-oop coincides with a greater understanding and application of pivot foot rules, leading to more “step-through” moves. While often appearing as travel violations to untrained eyes, NBA rules permit players to jump off their pivot foot and land on their non-pivot foot after picking up the dribble, provided the pivot foot doesn`t touch down again before the ball is released. Players have realized how much space this allows them to cover, and the self-oop is one play that has become more frequent as a result.
Despite requiring significant coordination and timing, the self alley-oop likely won`t become commonplace, but the league`s top athletes recognize its strategic value. Giannis Antetokounmpo has used it multiple times, both from the post and on fast breaks. Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Anthony Edwards, Jrue Holiday, Russell Westbrook, Jamal Murray, and Tyrese Haliburton have all used it in games – usually as a tactic, not a stunt. Even Nikola Jokic, known more for passing artistry than athleticism, used it for a layup in the 2021 playoffs, proving the play relies as much on basketball IQ as physical ability.
“It can be a weapon,” Mitchell noted, adding that LeBron James has utilized it in the playoffs.
Indeed, LeBron James is one of the most frequent users of the self-oop throughout his career, deploying it in All-Star games, regular season contests, and the NBA Finals, never shying away from using the backboard for a self-assist.
However, Kobe Bryant might be considered the modern pioneer of using the backboard for self-assists. Known for his masterful footwork, Bryant seemed to be among the first to fully grasp the potential space created by the step-through move combined with using the backboard. Bryant had numerous self-oops in his career, suggesting he practiced this specific play regularly and viewed it as a smart option. But sometimes, the line between tactical play and showmanship can blur.
With the Utah Jazz leading by just six points early in the second half against San Antonio in December 2023, Collin Sexton grabbed a turnover and had an open fast break. “I was like, `You know what? Why not,`” Sexton recalled. What followed surprised many: an even flashier version – a self alley-oop off the floor leading into a 360-degree dunk.
While the play offered no apparent tactical advantage over a standard dunk or layup, Sexton saw it as an energy boost for his team. “It`s like a momentum change,” Sexton stated. “Sometimes that allows the team to get fired up.”
Shortly after Sexton`s dunk, the Jazz extended their lead from six to twelve points and went on to win. Whether the dunk truly galvanized the team is debatable, but it seemingly didn`t hurt.
“You better make it,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said with deadpan humor. “But Collin made that dunk. And our team got a kick out of it, mostly because they knew I didn`t love it. There`s probably a crowd that`s like, `sanctity of the game, blah blah blah.` I`m not one of those people. But I do recommend that you make it if you`re going for it. Because if you don`t, now we have to do the thing where I`m really mad.”
Sexton remains unfazed by the risk, expressing a desire to attempt it again. “If I get taken out, I get taken out,” he said with a large grin. “[Coach will] put me back in.”
Determining if the self alley-oop is truly increasing in frequency across the NBA is challenging. Neither the league nor optical tracking systems specifically log it. Simple play-by-play logs are inconsistent; plays like Mitchell`s or Sexton`s, clearly self-passes from the start, are just logged as unassisted dunks. Brown`s play, where he changed course mid-air, might be recorded as a missed shot, rebound, and putback.
Optical tracking systems typically log these as a player rebounding their own miss. Even with special requests, they currently cannot distinguish between a self alley-oop and any other scenario where a player rebounds their own missed shot and scores quickly after.
Despite the tracking difficulties, Coach Mazzulla mentioned discussing the self-oop as a potential strategic element. “The backboard could be used more in certain situations,” he noted. “On downhill drives, when a smaller defender tries to box out a bigger player, throwing it off the glass could give the taller player an advantage.”
However it`s used, the self alley-oop is always a remarkable moment in basketball. At its heart, it perfectly embodies the joy of the sport: creativity and improvisation.
“It can be something that`s pretty dope,” Mitchell concluded. “It`s creativity and just improvisation.”
