"I'm not telling Jayson how to stop Tyrese": Elite NBA trainer talks about the mindset of training 2 Eastern Conference superstars
Elite basketball skills coach Drew Hanlen has been incredibly busy lately with his clients, including those competing in the ongoing NBA playoffs. Notably, he's been working with Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics and Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers, both of whom are currently batting it out in the Eastern Conference finals.
The 34-year-old trainer is no stranger to such demands, having juggled similar workloads throughout his career as a skills coach. He mentioned that he's learned to respect certain boundaries of his clients and the teams they play for, especially considering the high-stakes nature of the postseason.
In an exclusive interview with Mark Medina for Sportskeeda, Drew Hanlen shared the mindset he has developed while training elite players like Tatum and Haliburton.
"I'm mainly helping both of those guys on offense," Hanlen said. "I'm not telling Tyrese how to stop Jayson. I'm not telling Jayson how to stop Tyrese. I'm telling Jayson how to score and play against the Pacers. I'm telling Tyrese how to score and play against the Celtics.
"I work with the majority of the Eastern Conference All-Stars, which means this time of year is always tricky when they're competing against each other to try to represent the East in the Finals. But the biggest thing that I've learned over the years is you can do a good job with helping your guys without crossing any lines."
In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday, both of Hanlen's clients showcased solid offensive performances. Tatum finished with a game-high 36 points on 12-of-26 shooting as the Celtics went on to win 133-128 in overtime. Meanwhile, Haliburton, led the Pacers with 25 points, shooting 6-of-14 from three.
Drew Hanlen says he wants Jayson Tatum to be the best player that he can be
Trainer Drew Hanlen has been working with Boston Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum for the past few years and is pleased with the progress he has seen. He stated that their goal is aligned with helping JT become the best player he can be.
He shared this in the interview with Mark Medina, highlighting how their focus for the five-time All-Star is to be assertive and aggressive game in and game out.
"I've been trying to turn him into a cocky player on the court and an arrogant player on the court," Hanlen added. "I always tell him to be the 'nicest a**hole' -- a nice guy off the court and an a**hole on the court."
This season, Tatum's aggressiveness has seen him average 26.9 points and a career-high 4.9 assists and another spot in the All-NBA First Team.