"I feel like I started a whole wave in the training game." NBA skills coach Chris Brickley works with the top NBA players on perfecting their unique skill sets. From the increase Jimmy Butler saw in his shooting percentage last season to helping Paolo Banchero win rookie of the year, Chris takes us through his work with Carmelo Anthony, Kawhi Leonard, Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, and more NBA athletes.
Director: Robby Miller
Director of Photography: Brad Wickham
Editor: Graham Mooney
Talent: Chris Brickley
Creative Producer: Jean-Luc Lukunku
Line Producer: Jen Santos
Associate Producer: Chris Sechler
Production Manager: James Pipitone
Production Coordinator: Jamal Colvin
Talent Booker: Meredith Judkins
Camera Operator: Jake Robbins
Gaffer: David Djaco
Sound Mixer: Rehanna Chandan
Production Assistant: Rowmel Findley
Post Production Supervisor: Rachael Knight
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Supervising Editor: Rob Lombardi
Assistant Editor: Courtney Karwal
Director: Robby Miller
Director of Photography: Brad Wickham
Editor: Graham Mooney
Talent: Chris Brickley
Creative Producer: Jean-Luc Lukunku
Line Producer: Jen Santos
Associate Producer: Chris Sechler
Production Manager: James Pipitone
Production Coordinator: Jamal Colvin
Talent Booker: Meredith Judkins
Camera Operator: Jake Robbins
Gaffer: David Djaco
Sound Mixer: Rehanna Chandan
Production Assistant: Rowmel Findley
Post Production Supervisor: Rachael Knight
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Supervising Editor: Rob Lombardi
Assistant Editor: Courtney Karwal
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00 When I first started getting into training,
00:01 it wasn't a thing that you would take pictures
00:03 during workouts.
00:04 It wasn't a thing that guys would try and get fashion,
00:06 try and wear something cool for workouts.
00:08 It wasn't a thing that trainers would do runs.
00:10 And like now, like each trainer has their own runs.
00:13 Everyone has a photographer.
00:14 So I feel like I started a whole wave in the training game.
00:17 GQ, what's going on?
00:18 It's Chris Brickley, NBA skills coach,
00:20 and you're watching The Assist.
00:22 From the photography, from the fashion, from the runs,
00:27 players posting workout videos with me and Mello,
00:29 we kind of started that wave.
00:31 That's something that means a lot to me.
00:34 Shout out Mello, forget my foot in the door.
00:36 I own for the rest of his life.
00:37 And I even like with Kyan, I tell Mello all the time,
00:40 I'm gonna give it my all with your son.
00:42 He played a big role, I think,
00:44 just 'cause he's such a skilled player.
00:45 Kawhi hit me up and was like,
00:47 "I wanna learn Mello's footwork.
00:48 "Can you teach it to me?"
00:49 So I go to Mello, you know, I asked him.
00:52 He's like, "Yeah."
00:52 We did like two weeks with Kawhi.
00:55 If you look at his career, it was like 10 points a game,
00:57 12 points a game, 15.
00:59 After those two weeks, he really incorporated that
01:01 and the rest of his career is 20s and MVPs.
01:04 So I think that really helped his career.
01:06 That was part of the reason why I actually left the Knicks,
01:09 'cause I'm like, "Damn, I can really teach a player
01:11 "something and it's gonna change their career.
01:13 "I wanna do this more."
01:14 If you were to be like, "What exactly do you want?"
01:20 I want someone to walk in the gym right now.
01:22 I don't want them to be in eighth grade.
01:23 I don't want anyone to know who they are.
01:25 I started working out Dunovan.
01:26 He had 3,000 followers.
01:27 Now I think he has like 3.7 million.
01:29 His freshman season,
01:30 which people don't talk about this anymore,
01:32 he didn't play much.
01:33 He played like 12 minutes a game,
01:35 five points, four points a game.
01:37 Came back his sophomore year,
01:38 averaged 16 points a game, became a lottery pick
01:41 and now he's this superstar we see.
01:44 Over the years, we've gone through phases.
01:46 We went through finishing phases,
01:47 we went through dribbling phases,
01:49 we went through righty pickup phases, lefty pickup phases.
01:51 I think right now, the phase we're in
01:54 is just him creating space off his sidesteps
01:57 'cause as he's getting older,
01:59 we want less wear and tear on his body
02:02 and with the sidestep, he's not driving, not getting filed.
02:05 Each player has a different workout.
02:08 That's like a communication thing
02:09 between me and the player.
02:11 The player will tell me what he thinks he needs to work on.
02:13 I'll say what I think he needs to work on.
02:15 I'll talk to his coaching staff.
02:17 I might talk to his agent.
02:18 We'll sit down and literally write out a plan
02:20 for each summer.
02:21 So, you know, I'll be seeing on Twitter and stuff,
02:24 people are like, "Oh, he just does the same drills
02:26 "with everyone."
02:27 It's like, no, it's actually every player's
02:29 doing a different drill.
02:30 So Jimmy Butler, his workout routine
02:36 is also a little different.
02:37 Before we did our first workout,
02:39 he's fired or let go of his last four or five trainers
02:42 because they just wanted to shoot threes with him
02:45 and they just wanted to work on dribble moves
02:47 and that's not Jimmy's game.
02:48 Jimmy's game is finishing.
02:50 He's someone that needs his touch.
02:53 So, like we start the workout out
02:55 and we're shooting just different shots in the paint,
02:57 different shots around the paint.
02:58 His big thing is, if I'm making those shots
03:00 around the paint, then all my other shots
03:02 are gonna be going.
03:03 So if you actually were to watch a game
03:04 and he starts the game off
03:05 and he makes a few shots around the paint,
03:08 he's gonna have a hot night that night.
03:09 His big thing is, we need to work out
03:11 the night before a game,
03:12 so I'll be in rhythm the next day.
03:14 And that's why I was traveling around with the team.
03:16 I think this past year, I might've stayed at his house
03:19 more than I stayed at my house.
03:20 We became very close.
03:21 At the end of the day, being a trainer,
03:23 I'm not the reason why these players
03:26 are doing these great things,
03:27 but I feel like I can just add stuff
03:30 for their mental and little things in their game
03:33 for their confidence.
03:34 And it was cool to see Jimmy have the most efficient year
03:37 of his career this past year.
03:39 And to the media, he told them that it was because of me.
03:42 So that was really cool.
03:43 With James, we actually have had a relationship
03:50 for like six years.
03:51 Started working a little bit.
03:52 Following summer, we worked a little bit more.
03:54 Once he got to Brooklyn, we were working on it
03:56 every single night.
03:56 And then he gets to Philly, we continue work.
03:59 I feel like I was working with him in the midst
04:01 of when he was playing in a way that was controversial
04:05 with the step backs, with this being creative.
04:08 I thought it was really cool.
04:09 I think he's still one of the most elite players in the league.
04:12 So James Harden, he's one of the probably most creative
04:15 players of our generation.
04:17 And he works out in an unorthodox way.
04:20 He still does a lot of fundamental things,
04:22 but we also work a lot on creating space.
04:24 Once we get into the workout, he's big with the step backs.
04:28 He's big with the side steps.
04:29 I've been doing this for like eight years
04:31 and I've never seen a player do these drills.
04:34 So I actually took some stuff from him
04:36 and I use it with other players.
04:37 So shout out James Harden for that.
04:39 When we first started working, I'd be like 70%
04:41 with the step backs and stuff.
04:43 He's like, let's go 50/50.
04:44 50% of it would be out of rhythm.
04:46 Just, we're just getting our spots and pulling up.
04:47 50% of it would be working on his handle,
04:50 working on the step backs, that type of deal.
04:51 But it's actually impossible to guard
04:53 'cause you have to think you're dribbling the ball
04:55 and he's either gonna step back and shoot it.
04:57 So you need to be tight on him
04:58 or he's gonna fake the step back and drive by you.
05:01 So as a defender, you're guessing.
05:03 He's impossible to guard.
05:04 So Paulo Benqueiro was just rookie of the year.
05:15 Something we're working on is consistency.
05:17 So he's shown how strong he is.
05:19 He showed how athletic he is.
05:20 Now we're just really working around the top of the key area
05:23 and we work on just being a consistent shooter
05:25 and shooting off the dribble.
05:27 He's an athletic freak.
05:35 He's strong.
05:36 He has handle.
05:37 His next step is just being a consistent shooter.
05:39 This off season, compared to last off season,
05:41 it's night and day.
05:42 I really think, and everyone in the gym thinks
05:45 he's gonna be an all-star next season.
05:46 (upbeat music)
05:49 - There's a lot of celebrities and rappers
05:52 that you also work with.
05:53 What's it like working with some of those guys?
05:55 - At first, I thought it was super cool.
05:57 Just do my lifestyle and everything.
05:59 It wasn't as cool, but it was more like,
06:02 if I have a relationship with you
06:03 and I listen to your music, let's do it.
06:04 Then you have a story like J. Cole.
06:06 He's like, I wanna really try
06:07 and become a basketball player.
06:09 So we were in this exact gym every night.
06:11 It's kids would go to sleep.
06:13 He'd get in his bike with the security guard,
06:15 drive his bike from Trebeka to the summit.
06:18 And we would stay in the paint
06:19 and only shoot in the paint for three straight months.
06:22 And we would be in there for two hours a night
06:24 just shooting with one hand.
06:26 And then I'd be like, yo, this isn't normal.
06:29 I'd tell him that.
06:30 He'd be like, well, when I'm in the studio, I go 12 hours.
06:33 So I'm like, yeah, but this is a lot on your body.
06:37 I'd explain that to him.
06:39 So for three months, we shot in the paint.
06:41 Then we backed up for three months.
06:43 And we really broke it down to a point
06:46 where he was shooting as good as NBA players.
06:49 Problem was, he's 35 years old
06:51 when he started this dream.
06:53 And so I feel like his body kind of wore down.
06:56 If he started this at 25,
06:58 I really think that he could have gotten to 10 day.
07:12 It's funny, my manager probably thinks I'm crazy
07:14 'cause I gotta sit down with him every day.
07:15 And I'm like, listen, when I wake up tomorrow morning,
07:18 I want my brand to be bigger than it was yesterday.
07:21 And I really, that's my goal.
07:23 I just wanna keep growing.
07:24 I'm still starving.
07:26 Just keep doing what I'm doing.
07:27 But I wanna really,
07:28 like I started the Chris Brickley Invitational.
07:30 And this is the first year of it.
07:32 Had the top players in the country.
07:33 Freshman, sophomores, juniors, seniors.
07:35 We had like five McDonald's All-Americans.
07:37 We had a bunch of the number one kids in the country.
07:39 So I'm just trying to now cover that
07:41 so then in like 10 years,
07:44 I have all the NBA players.
07:45 Like I'm trying to like, you know, put that foundation in.
07:48 But I feel like everything's going in the right direction.
07:51 (siren blaring)
07:53 [BLANK_AUDIO]