MIAMI — The slam dunk has captivated the basketball world for a generation with its combination of raw ferocity and balletic grace, but this year a different shot is sweeping the N.B.A. playoffs.

It is called the teardrop. And it is the antidunk.

If the slam dunk is all power, the teardrop is all finesse, a dandelion fluff of a shot that is nearly always tossed up by the smallest player on the floor. The teardrop floats over defenders’ outstretched hands, arcs toward the rafters and then — especially this year — drops through the net with barely a whisper.

This week, teardrops have helped fuel an upset in Miami, a rout in New York and a double-overtime classic in San Antonio. Some of the brightest stars of the playoffs — Nate Robinson of the Chicago Bulls, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Raymond Felton of the Knicks — stand between 5 feet 9 inches and 6-3, shrubs amid courts packed with redwoods. But each has used the teardrop to take control of a game.

“If you have the touch to do it, it’s very effective,” said Curry, whose teardrops bend so high they can seem like trick shots. “You have to work at it, and it’s tough to do when you’re trying to get by a defender; you’re going full speed.”