In a Minnesota Dunk Squad dunk session from earlier this year, I finally hit a dunk I’ve been chasing for a while: the handoff behind the back.
If you’ve never seen it, the dunk starts with someone else holding the ball. The dunker starts their approach, grabs the ball out of their hand with one hand, brings it behind their back in midair, and then finishes the dunk. It’s a tricky one because the handoff has to be positioned just right, and you still need to pull off a controlled transfer. I’ve attempted it in the past, but this time everything clicked.
How the Session Played Out
The gym had great energy from the start. A bunch of the Minnesota guys made it out, including Saje Scheeler—someone I hadn’t jumped with since March of 2024. This was actually his first time jumping since then, which made the day even more unique.
My jumping height wasn’t at its absolute peak that day, but my handspeed felt amazing. Alongside the handoff behind the back, I also landed another new one: the Dwight tap two-hand reverse. After that, I experimented with some wild ideas toward the end, just to see where I was at..
What’s Next
At this time I was still building back toward jumping my highest, but sessions like this prove that progress isn’t always about pure vertical. A lot of the time should be spent learning new dunks.
The last time I probably jumped significantly higher than this was back in January, during the Las Vegas session with some of the best dunkers in the world.
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