Finn Addy’s story is one of the coolest in the dunk community right now. He won the 10-foot dunk contest at Dunk Camp in Utah, and that win earned him a spot competing against professional dunkers at a FIBA 3×3 contest in Edmonton, Canada. In this episode of Dunk Talk, I (Dylan Haugen) and my co-host Hunter Castona sat down with Finn to talk about his entire journey — from first dunking at 15 to going head-to-head with guys like Donovan Hawkins and Brandon Ruffin on a professional stage.
Who Is Finn Addy?
Finn is 6’1″, 21 years old, and from Ontario, Canada. What makes his story unique is that he comes from a hockey and soccer background, not basketball. He grew up playing hockey and soccer, then switched to basketball around grade seven and played college basketball for one year. When Hunter and I found out about the hockey background, it made his athleticism even more impressive. His hand speed and coordination are elite despite not growing up in a traditional basketball pipeline. You can find him on Instagram @1footdisciple, and the name says it all — Finn is a one-foot dominant dunker who built his game from that foundation.
From Low Rims to One-Foot Dominance
Finn started messing around on low rims when he was 12 or 13, but his real dunk journey started when he saw Stephen Sy — a dunker from Canada — throwing down one-foot dunks and thought to himself that he could do that too. He got his first dunk at 15 off one foot, and for probably the first six months of his journey, one-foot jumping was all he knew. He said his low-rim sessions were pretty consistent, almost every day at some points. He’d invite friends over, play 21 — which in Canada they just call 21 — and then after everyone left, he’d stay and dunk on the low rim for hours. His main inspirations beyond Stephen Sy were Jordan Southerland and Nick Ross, who both have one-foot styles that he studied closely.
Developing Two-Foot and Overcoming Knee Buckling
Over time, Finn started incorporating functional training and injury prevention work, which helped him develop a two-foot bounce as well. He said he completely sucked at two-foot until he started lifting, and only recently got his first Eastbay off two feet. One thing we related to in this conversation was knee buckling — that frustrating thing where you come in with a little too much speed on a one-foot jump and your knee just gives out. It doesn’t hurt, but you go nowhere. Finn dealt with that a lot as he pushed into more advanced trick dunks. Diversifying his jumping style ultimately made him more well-rounded and less dependent on one approach.
Winning the Dunk Camp 10-Foot Contest
The turning point in Finn’s journey was winning the 10-foot dunk contest at Dunk Camp in Utah. This wasn’t a low-rim exhibition — this was full regulation height against a field of serious dunkers. That win put Finn on the map in a way that social media clips alone can’t do. It proved he could perform under pressure on the biggest stage the amateur dunk community has to offer, and it opened a door that most dunkers never get to walk through.
Competing Against Donovan Hawkins at FIBA Edmonton
Because of his Dunk Camp win, Finn got the opportunity to compete in a FIBA 3×3 dunk contest in Edmonton — his home country of Canada. He went up against Donovan Hawkins and Brandon Ruffin, both established pro dunkers. Finn said going into it, he basically knew he wasn’t going to win unless Donovan missed, so he just focused on doing his best and soaking in the experience. What was really cool is that by the end of the weekend, Finn said it felt like he, Donovan, and Brandon were best friends — they had an amazing time together. He unfortunately missed his third dunk in the contest, but the experience of competing on that level, with professional production and real stakes, was something he talked about with genuine excitement. For a guy who came from hockey and started dunking at 15, being on a FIBA stage just a few years later is incredible.
Watch the full interview with Finn Addy above. Follow him on Instagram @1footdisciple and subscribe to the Dunk Talk Podcast on YouTube so you never miss an episode.