Learn the pro hop: the two-footed hop stop out of the dribble, what the rules say about pivot foot and steps and how to stop without hurting your knee.
The pro hop is a hop out of the dribble in which you pick up the ball, are airborne and land on both feet. Afterwards you may pivot on one foot and finish at the basket. It is a stop with a directional advantage.
The honest answer to “Is that just a jump stop?”: almost. The pro hop is a jump stop that comes out of the dribble with a take-off from one foot; the landing is two-footed and simultaneous. The rulebook says: if you land on both feet at the same time on the first step, you may pivot with either foot as the pivot foot; if you then jump off both feet, neither foot may return to the floor before the ball is released [1]. So a pro hop is not a trick but a combination of stop and finish.
The price is the landing. In a study of 33 volleyball and basketball players, the landing in the braking phase of a stop-jump was clearly stiffer than the vertical landing: 40 to 83 % less joint motion, 121 % more shear force on the shin, 156 % more pull on the patellar tendon [2].
The pro hop is a stop that not only brakes but re-aims your path to the basket.
If you end a dribble or catch while running, you have two steps. If you land on both feet at the same time on the first step, you may pivot on one foot, and you decide which. If you jump off both feet, neither foot may return to the floor before the ball is released [1]. Milestone: You explain why a pro hop is not travelling when you keep the sequence.
Run up easily, jump off the outer foot and land on both feet simultaneously, knees bent, hips low. Milestone: Ten soft landings, no thumping, knees stay over the toes.
Dribble in, secure the ball in both hands before the hop and land two-footed. The ball belongs in both hands before the feet touch down. Milestone: Ten pro hops with a ball, you stand stable afterwards.
In a study of 21 basketball players, jump height in two-footed running jumps was positively related to approach speed [5]. That argues for not killing more speed than necessary in the hop (a conclusion, not a measurement of the pro hop). Brake only as much as necessary. Milestone: Three tempo levels (easy, brisk, fast), each with a clean landing.
From the hop you go into the finish: layup, floater or pass. The rule for the act of shooting on drives says it begins when you have gathered the ball and continue the shooting motion [1]. Milestone: Ten finishes after a pro hop, seven of them in. Then with a passive defender.
Landings from a jump were the most common situation in a video analysis of 31 cruciate ligament tears in the NBA (14 of 31), and in 28 of 31 cases an opponent stood within about 60 centimetres [4]. The pro hop often ends in the lane, where opponents are close. Land softly, both feet at the same time, and start at low speed. If you feel pain in the knee, stop. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training or a coach.
Do not jump higher than necessary. A flat hop with a quick landing is more stable than a high one. This is coaching experience. If the landing is hard, the hop was too high.
The jump stop is the landing on both feet at the same time. The pro hop is a jump stop deliberately jumped out of the dribble to change direction and rhythm and prepare the finish. The rules are the same [1].
Not if you keep the sequence: two-footed landing on the first step, then pivot or jump off without a foot returning to the floor before release [1].
It loads them, like any hard stop. A study showed clearly higher forces at the knee in the braking phase of a stop-jump [2]. With bent knees and hips, good ankle mobility and a warm-up you lower the risk [3][6].
When you want to confuse the defender with your feet or change the rhythm for the finish. This is coaching experience. The move loses tempo, so it is not suited for every fast break.
As low as possible. The hop is meant to change direction and rhythm, not to gain height. The higher you jump, the harder the landing, and the braking phase loads the knee heavily anyway [2]. This is coaching experience: a flat hop with a soft landing is more stable.
Learning the Power Layup: Finishing Through Contact Off Two Feet