Tag: drew hanlen

Joel Embiid in awe of Tyrese Maxey’s work ethic, gives love to Drew Hanlen

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is in awe of Tyrese Maxey’s work ethic while giving love to trainer Drew Hanlen.

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey has quickly become a household name in the NBA. The fourth-year guard out of Kentucky is a rising star in the league and is headed toward an All-Star appearance and a likely spot on an All-NBA team.

Through the first nine games of the season, Maxey is averaging 28.6 points and 7.2 assists while shooting 50.5% from the floor and 43.1% from deep. He has taken over the point guard spot from James Harden seamlessly, and the Sixers have looked better than many expected to begin the 2023-24 season.

Maxey has prepared for this moment. He works tirelessly, and he worked out with renowned trainer Drew Hanlen, who also works with Joel Embiid. After Maxey dropped 50 points in Sunday’s win over the Indiana Pacers, Embiid was in awe.

“If I gotta be honest, he probably would have taken this leap a year ago, two years ago, because I’ve been telling him to work out with Drew for a long time,” Embiid smiled. “I’m happy that he did it, but that’s not about me. That’s not about the trainer. He just wants to get better. He wants to learn. He’s willing to learn. He listens, extremely humble.”

Maxey has been a joyful person since he entered the league. No matter what is going on, he always has a smile on his face. He is a humble guy who is thankful he gets to play basketball for a living, and he gets to do what he loves.

“The hardest working person I’ve ever been around and that’s saying something,” Embiid added. “He doesn’t take plays off. He always finds a way to get better. Obviously, he’s doing great, but I think he has an even brighter future. I think he can get to another level and Philadelphia’s got a good one. He’s gonna be here for a long time and, like I said, he’s the franchise.”

Maxey has taken the big leap everybody needed from him to begin the season. Considering the expectations and everything that has been on the line for Philadelphia, it’s impressive that Maxey has taken the steps forward to keep the Sixers in serious contention in the Eastern Conference.

Regardless of whether he made those steps or not, Maxey is always full of joy and that rubs off on everybody else in a positive way.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him mad,” Embiid finished. “Usually, for me in the mornings, I don’t mess around. With him, you can come in at 7 in the morning, smiling, and I’m like ‘Dude, you just woke up,’ but that’s always the same energy. It doesn’t change. Good games, bad games, always the same. Like I said, when you got people around like that, especially when it’s someone that high in the organization. It changes everything. It sets the tone for everyone else.”

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Drew Hanlen explains what Sixers’ Joel Embiid has been working on

Trainer Drew Hanlen explains what Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has been working on in the summer.

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid always comes back with something extra in his bag of tricks on the offensive end. He has morphed into one of the league’s best big men and is a top 5 player in the NBA regardless of position.

The big fella has developed into a three-level scorer. He has been able to develop his skills around the basket, he can calmly knock down a mid-range jumper, and he has taken his range out to beyond the arc. There is no real way to stop Embiid as he has led the league in scoring for two straight seasons now.

Trainer Drew Hanlen hopped on “The out of Site” podcast and he explained what he has Embiid prepared to do in the 2023-24 season:

With the new offense that Nick [Nurse] is gonna be installing, we think that Jo is gonna get a lot more easy looks around the basket. Instead of having to create one-on-two, one-on-three him just isoing and being a dominant big, we’re hoping that he gets more back screens, and curl cuts, slips, and screens where he catches the ball at 4-8 feet instead of always having to catch the ball at 15-18. So we’ve spent a lot of time on the hook shot this summer, on the floater this summer. And things we haven’t really worked on the last couple years just because he hasn’t got those shots.

Having Embiid add a hook shot or a floater is such a big development for him. That just adds another factor to his bag and allows him to be a more complete scorer. While he is already able to score at all three levels, if he adds these two skills, then that’s another way for him to dominate the game.

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Conversation between Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid on rigors of the NBA Finals surfaces

The Celtics star shared his perspective with the 76ers big man during a training session with Drew Hanlen.

Fans of star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum may know that, while they may battle with all their abilities on the court, Tatum and Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid share a trainer, Pure Sweat’s Drew Hanlen. Recently, a video of the pair training with Hanlen surfaced that featured a conversation between Tatum and Embiid talking about the former’s experience in the 2022 NBA Finals.

“Did you feel the pressure?” asked Embiid of the St. Louis native via Heavy’s Jack Simone. “Nah, the first game was like, I wasn’t nervous in the morning,” replied JT. “When we ran out there for warm-ups, it hit me, how much was on the line.”

“(I am trying to) figure out how it is so I can make it next year,” replied the Sixers big man.

“I know one thing, once you get there if you don’t get back, don’t (expletive) else matter,” answered Tatum.

The former Duke standout dropped a hint of what has fueled him and the Celtics to a league-best record and a legitimate Most Valuable Player candidacy, respectively.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum seen adding a fake stepback to his offensive toolkit

The St. Louis native has been putting in work to grow his game even more this offseason.

With each NBA offseason, players get to work on improving their games and maintaining their bodies in preparation for the campaign to come, and Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum is no exception to this cycle.

The St. Louis native was recently seen working on adding a new offensive tool for his bag with longtime basketball trainer Drew Hanlen of Pure Sweat. Widely known for his sidestep 3-pointer, Tatum is now working on introducing a fake step-back trey to his arsenal as well, which ought to leave defenders frustrated and confused if deployed often and well enough to be effective.

The Celtics star can be seen trying it out in the video embedded below courtesy of Pure Sweat’s Twitter account, still looking a little unnatural and in need of polishing up.

But the Duke product is close to having it down, and it looks to be an impressive option to deploy while keeping opposing defenses honest.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Drew Hanlen, trainer for Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum, talks about offseason goals for his star client

After a long season and short break before the next, Tatum and Hanlen have their plans in place to prepare for a pursuit of Banner 18.

After the longest slate of high-level basketball of Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum’s career and in the shortest offseason yet he’s seen after a trip to the 2022 NBA Finals, the St. Louis native is putting in work to grow his game and change his body for the season ahead.

With his Celtics having designs on not only getting back to the Finals but winning them, addressing the weak points in his game and the aspects of his physique most needing attention in the short weeks available will be something of a balancing act for Tatum and his trainer Drew Hanlen.

But it’s a challenge both have embraced earnestly, which Hanlen spoke at length about in a recent interview with the Boston Herald’s Mark Murphy.

NBA reporter Chris Mannix, during the …

NBA reporter Chris Mannix, during the NBC Sports Boston broadcast Sunday with the Celtics hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves, shared a story about a recent phone call between Tatum and Embiid. “Let me in part a quick story about how much it means for Jayson Tatum to be MVP,” Mannix said during the broadcast. “I was speaking to Drew Hanlen, Tatum’s longtime trainer, the other day. He said he was with Joel Embiid when Tatum called him and before they got off the call Tatum said to Embiid, ‘You better win the MVP this year because I’m gonna get it next year.’ “

WATCH: Jayson Tatum, Bradley Beal, and other NBA stars battle in summer workouts

Jayson Tatum joins other NBA stars for open runs in Los Angeles:

NBA skills trainer Drew Hanlen is known for having the leagues best get together for offseason runs that keep players competitive during the summer months.

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum has long been a client of Hanlen’s, and has perfected his game with the NBA trainer during a number of summers. Tatum was joined by other Hanlen clients and NBA stars for some runs as Bradley Beal, RJ Barrett, Kelly Oubre, Spencer Dinwiddie, and others got after it in Los Angeles.

While it’s hard to put stock into workout highlights, it’s always fun to see the world’s best playing pickup against each other in a local gym:

Jayson Tatum, trainer Drew Hanlen plan to work on getting to the line more in 2021-22

The Celtic star is going to hone one of his deadliest means of attack ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season.

Expect to see a lot more of Boston Celtics All-Star wing Jayson Tatum at the free throw line in the coming 2021-22 season. With it evident at this stage of his career that the St. Louis native is nearly unstoppable when he takes it to the cup, opponents often find themselves fouling Tatum in order to stop his seemingly endless arms from getting the biscuit into the basket.

Working with longtime trainer Drew Hanlen, the Duke product is focusing on attacking the basket this offseason with an eye to expanding Tatum’s comfort with perhaps his most lethal means of putting points on the board according to the Boston Herald’s Mark Murphy.

“The big thing for me is that he has to be able to initiate contact instead of letting the defender get to him first,” related Hanlen to the Herald.