The NBA's shooting surgeon comes to Killarney with a mantra: The best can still get better

Embiid, Tatum, Beal...Drew Hanlen is the right-hand man for a host of basketball's sharpest shooters. He's ready to share his expertise here

Trusting the process: Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has raised his game to new heights this season — thanks to the help of Drew Hanlen. Picture: Getty Images

A bit like Paul Young, wherever Drew Hanlen lays his baseball cap that’s his home, which means this particular afternoon that we catch him it’s Philadelphia.

Joel Embiid, who is on course to be the NBA’s leading scorer this season, just as another client of Hanlen’s — Bradley Beal — was last year, has a game in a few hours against one of the other titans of the league, Giannis Antetokounmpo and his reigning world champions, the Milwaukee Bucks. Like with every player on his books, Hanlen communicates daily with Embiid, over Facetime or Zoom, chatting, texting, breaking down video together but the pair of them figured it would be a neat time for the leading personal strategic skills coach in the sport to meet up and see in person why many believe his Frankenstein is the most valuable player in the league this year.