What is the Eurostep?
The eurostep is an extremely effective move that has become very popular over the last 5-10 years. Manu Ginobili is often credited with making it popular in the NBA. Ginobili along with James Harden and Dwyane Wade are often said to have the BEST EuroStep. Now you probably can’t watch 5 minutes of any NBA or college game without seeing at least one eurostep. It has become a go-to scoring move for many players at many different levels.
The move basically uses a basketball players’ two steps in two big hops one in one direction, then the second changing directions. The first hop is what a defender often tries to guard, then the hop back in the other direction frees the player up for a finish at the basket.
When to use the Eurostep
The eurostep is used when going to the basket with a fair amount of momentum. It usually comes off of a dribble drive, a screen and roll where the player drives, or on a fast break. While the eurostep works for any player, you will often see them used most frequently by guards and small forwards as they are the players most frequently attacking the basket. It can serve as a great tool for undersized players who are looking to finish inside.
How to do the Eurostep
This video breaks down exactly how to do the Eurostep:
For those that can’t watch the video. here is what you need to know:
You need to set the move up and sell it to the defense. Let’s say you were going to do a right to left Eurostep down the middle of the lane. You would take your last dribble then take a big hop to the right landing on your “plant foot”. Throw your shoulders to that side so that it looks like you will be trying to finish on the right side of the hoop. After you throw your shoulders and plant, push off that plant foot back in the other direction to the left, throwing your shoulders back the other way while you jump. This left foot is now the “launch foot”, this is the foot you now jump off of to finish with a lay-up, dunk, or floater.
Varieties of the Eurostep
As you see toward the end of the video, there are a ton of variations you can use with the Eurostep:
- Go right to left or left to right
- You can do the move on either side or down the middle of the floor
- You can finish toward the basket or moving away from the basket
- You can sweep the ball high (over a shorter defender)
- OR low under a taller defender
- The move can be down close to the basket for a finish/dunk
- OR the move can be down further from the basket for a quick floater or one-foot shot.
There are also a variety of ways you can finish:
- Finger roll
- Floater
- Dunk
- Reverse Layup (to use the rim as a shield)
- A fallaway floater
- A quick shot (perhaps a one foot shot like Steve Nash)
No matter how you do the eurostep, this is an important scoring move that every player needs to add to their arsenal. It is important to practice this move and to also work on it with a defender so that you can use it in the game as a reaction to the defense. Practice all different variations and finishes. Then start to implement it in the games and start scoring more points!
Do you use the Eurostep? Does it work for you? Leave comments below!
If you like this, definitely check out our basketball lay-up / dunk series to improve your finishing
He has 25 years of experience playing basketball, training basketball players, and coaching basketball. The World of Hoops provides intelligent and intense basketball training to take basketball players to the next level.
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My 9 year old daughter just started playing basketball this year, January 2017. She’s picked up the sport rather quickly. My husband has been approched multiple times about our daughter by multiple basketball coaches. Today I’ve overheard spectators talking about her and how it is she is able to do a Eurostep at such a young age. My husband says she just does it naturally. She’s never been taught how to do the Eurostep. But she does it naturally and really well. Thank you .