When was the alley oop

When a big man catches the ball in the paint, the attention of the defense is rightly focused. But sometimes they can miss the fact that there is more than big man on the floor. Here all eyes are on Pau Gasol as he makes the catch, allowing Dwight Howard to sneak behind the defense. And then there are our favorite alley-oops, those constructed with the slimmest of openings and transcendent athleticism. It may be nothing more than space for a trailer to cut in transition, or a half-second opening in the lane, just enough time to plant and launch.

But my personal favorite is a clear lane to the basket on the back side of a fast break. Here LeBron James needs just a handful of steps to beat five Knicks to the other end of the floor and wreak havoc on the rim. Basketball is as much an artistic endeavor as it is an athletic one. The alley-oop is the most joyous and exuberant expression of that art, the best of the whole darn thing all wrapped up into a single play.

I'll never catch one and I'll almost certainly never throw one. But the anticipation of watching one should be just enough to get me through the next two months until basketball returns. There is nothing as thrilling as watching your favorite Orlando players charge down the court, dribbling and making that moment of eye contact with a player in the key, waiting for a pass. Tension will pass between them, the spectators will hold their breath, and then in a moment of speed the ball is flung forward, caught in sure and capable hands, and lofted toward the basket.

The ball slams through the net and the play is successfully completed as the spectators cheer in excitement. The alley oop is complete!

Your browser does not support iframes. Skip to main content. The Alley Oop Alley oop! Replay Play Next. While players like Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain have recorded histories of alley-oop plays, it was not until David Thompson and his teammates routinely performed the feat at North Carolina State University that the alley-oop was popularized.

This N. State team is also credited with the most iconic alley-oop in history. Despite the play starting out with a missed shot attempt rather than a pass, the ball falling short of the rim and into the hands of Lorenzo Charles who dunked the ball to win the NCAA title against Houston is still considered an alley-oop. While the play typically necessitates two players, instances have occurred where athletic players lob the ball to themselves off the backboard and then slam the ball down.