NBA trainer Chris Brickley explains what it takes to be an elite player

Some prospects are identified with limitless potential but never amount to anything. Other guys come out of nowhere and shock the world.

It’s hard to predict which prospects fall under which category but Chris Brickley has a pretty good idea of how to do it. Brickley is the owner of BlackOps Basketball, where he works as a skills trainer for the league’s top stars.

You may recognize him considering his gym often has pickup games featuring everyone from Carmelo Anthony to Trae Young. He also helps train several famous musicians including the likes of J. Cole and Travis Scott. Brickley, who has over a million followers on Instagram, also owns the clothing brand Color Blind NYC.

He has seen so much of the progress many of the game’s best players have made during their careers. This year, he trained seven of the players selected in the first round of the 2021 NBA draft and some of them will go on to make a big impact in the pros.

With that in mind, Brickley caught up with HoopsHype to teach us about some of the traits and characteristics he has noticed from the players who start off as great prospects but evolve into guys who also have excellent professional careers.

Please note this interview was minorly edited in its transcript for clarity.