When it comes to Jayson Tatum, I don’t know where to start. A player of his caliber doesn’t come into the league often. I haven’t seen someone with this much skill since Kevin Durant.
I can appreciate players who take the time to work on their craft instead of collecting a paycheck and sitting on the beach during the offseason. Tatum is a true professional to a T. Everyone should take a moment and really look into what Tatum worked on in the offseason.
The first thing that comes to mind is probably his workout with Kobe, right? Owner of Pure Sweat Drew Hanlen is the brains behind Tatum’s big leap from rookie to sophomore in the NBA.
His workouts with Hanlen should be taken into consideration and should garner attention. Hanlen is known for developing players and working with them both on and off the court. Yes, I give Kobe credit, but Hanlen worked with Tatum on specific movements, positioning with the basketball, etc. He would spend hours with Tatum working on the same movements until he got comfortable doing them, and more importantly, until the ball went through the net. From that patented step-back to his dribble pull up, Hanlen is responsible for it.
Hanlen’s focus is player development (inside and out). Before each session, he studies film to develop a player’s strengths and weaknesses on the court. What will make a coach want to keep you out on the floor? This is a question Hanlen bases some of his workouts on. Most importantly, he believes in hard work, and what better player to join his movement than Jayson Tatum?
With Tatum, he’d teach him isolation moves, keep him in a rhythm with shooting, and essentially put him in game-like situations where he had to make a move in a split-second. Most players don’t even think about details of this magnitude, but Hanlen treats basketball like a classroom at times.
Tatum was put through months of training which matured his game and increased his confidence on the offensive end. I’d often see Tatum in classroom sessions studying film, and learning his weaknesses both sides of the ball. These sessions typically lasted for two hours, then it was off to the gym. Tatum did this the entire summer while other players chose to sing “Kum ba yah” in Hawaii.
Now, Kobe should get some credit. Tatum’s moves working outside the low-post are so similar to Kobe’s that if we put the clips side by side you wouldn’t even tell the difference. What Kobe does that Hanlen doesn’t is his attention paid to off-ball. Kobe is one of the best players at getting free off-ball and hitting certain “pockets” on the floor. In Tatum’s rookie season, I saw him be stagnant and give up open looks. He got to his spots but would go too high and wait for the defender to get to him. Kobe’s attention to detail taught Tatum to cut off the screen and hit holes within the offense.
Picture Tatum’s offseason like a birthday cake. Hanlen’s work is the base of the cake, building up his confidence and offensive moves to the hoop. As for Kobe, he’s the frosting. Kobe came in at the right time and at a crucial part of the offseason, a month before preseason began. Drew Hanlen is the reason behind Tatum’s success, not Kobe.