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]
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