A substrate support assembly and method for dechucking a substrate is provided. In one embodiment, a support assembly includes a substrate support having a support surface, a first set of lift pins and one or more other lift pins movably disposed through the substrate support. The first set of lift pins and the one or more lift pins project from the support surface when the pins are in an actuated position. When in the actuated position, the first set of lift pins project a longer distance from the support surface than the one or more other lift pins. In another aspect of the invention, a method for dechucking a substrate from a substrate support is provided. In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of projecting a first set of lift pins a first distance above a surface of a substrate support, and projecting a second set of lift pins a second distance above the surface of the substrate support that is less than the first distance.