Even professional athletes need a little extra help every now and then.
Although sports is a children's game, its consequences are very real, especially to those involved in their inner workings. Gold isn't always eternal. Both for players, executives and everyone in between.
It's for that reason that players have to be refined. And what better way to add to your toolkit than hiring a trainer?
Basketball trainers have become celebrities in their own right since the dawn of social media. The reason why? They represent both sides of the sport's economy. On one hand, they get to bear witness to the physical greatness of these hulking magnolias that dart across the hardwood. On the other, they are able to offer critiques from the ivory tower of spectatorship.
There are basketball trainers. And there's a hyper-elite class of them, figures who have sculpted some of the sport's finest talents into superstars.
Drew Hanlen is one of those carvers. His work with Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum and more continues to bear fruit, particularly when the lights are at their brightest.
Here's what you need to know about Hanlen, artisan to the stars.
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Who is Drew Hanlen?
Hanlen is a personal basketball trainer. He specializes in helping players develop moves in game speed, a simple but often forgotten element of training success.
Hanlen has been training professional-caliber players for more than a decade. He's served a host of basketball's greatest talents, not just Embiid, Tatum and the two Tyreses (Maxey and Haliburton) but also Bradley Beal, Zach LaVine, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Clarkson.
Hanlen first got into the "industry" (if you can call it that) when a parent noticed his training regimen at a local practice facility in St. Louis. He went from strength to strength in the years after, refining his craft while enrolled at Belmont, the Nashville-based school that has flirted with Division I excellence over the past few decades.
While with the Bears, Hanlen developed a reputation as a 3-point marksman. He sank 48.2 percent of his 3-point attempts as a senior, dropping 10.8 points per game in his final season in Nashville. Fueled by his impressive production, the Bears notched back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.
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Hanlen was solid, if unspectacular during his college days. But his name rang in basketball courts across the land. The reason why? His training prowess. By this point, he had already started giving Beal pointers on improving as a player. He soon offered up his services to Tatum as well, another St. Louis product seeking basketball greatness.
"I started working with Jayson when he was 13," Hanlen told Local Hoops in 2021. "He and I had been preparing for the NBA from day one. Our long-term plan was to start with fundamentals, then add a bag of tricks as we went. The final step was changing his shot mechanics so he could extend his range and become a knockdown 3-point shooter."
Hanlen helped Tatum do just that. He offered similar helpers for Embiid —whom he began offering advice to prior to his professional career — and LaVine. The results were predictable ones for Hanlen: all three became All-Stars.
"I've accepted my role being in the background and giving them that little extra assistance to make sure they have a competitive advantage every time they step on the court against an opponent," Hanlen said in a 2015 TSN article. "My ultimate goal is to help as many players (as possible) reach the level of success that they dream of and take them beyond what they even think is capable. That’s kind of the mission statement and my personal belief.
“I’ve been able to help a lot of players and business is doing great.”
