What The Greats Do
One of the most remarkable people that basketball has afforded me to meet is shooting coach Dave Hopla. Coach Hopla has worked in the NBA for several years (Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards).
In addition to working directly for NBA teams, Coach Hopla has been hired privately by the game’s best players. We asked him to share two of his most memorable stories:
A Young Kobe Bryant
Coach Hopla had the opportunity to work with Kobe Bryant back in 1996, before he was drafted by the Lakers, and then continued to work with him for the first 4 years of Kobe’s NBA career.
Here is a quick story about the first time they met:
Kobe called late one evening to set up a workout for the following day. The only time Coach Hopla had available was 5:30am because he was heading out of town around lunch time. Kobe said, “Sounds good, let’s do it.”
Coach Hopla arrived at the gym at 5:15am and saw that Kobe was already there… preparing for the workout to start at 5:30am. Kobe had arrived at 4:45am. He was in a full sweat before the workout officially started.
“Kobe has a sense of urgency with everything he does. Every rep, every shot, every drill is important to him. He takes advantage of every opportunity to get better. Kobe is never satisfied with his game and his always looking to improve. That hunger is what makes him great.”
Brandon Jennings is the Future
Coach Hopla was hired to work with the Milwaukee Buck’s Brandon Jennings this past August. He was scheduled to fly in to Milwaukee one afternoon to work Brandon out that evening and then again the following morning. Coach Hopla’s flight was severely delayed. He called Brandon to apologize and let him know he wouldn’t be getting in until 11pm and wanted to see what time he wanted to work out the next morning. Brandon said, “Morning? I still want to work outtonight. Let’s meet at the gym at midnight.”
Coach Hopla worked Brandon out from midnight to 2:30am… and they went hard! They went again at 7:00am the next morning!
Coach Hopla was extremely impressed with Brandon’s work ethic and determination to get better. He said Brandon has a chip on his shoulder and wants to prove to the world he is one of the best point guards in the NBA. But he isn’t looking for a hand-out; he wants to earn that distinction.
It wouldn’t be fair to highlight those two stories without highlighting Coach Hopla’s story as well. He is considered by many to be the top shooter in the world. He regularly keeps track of all his shots during practice and when he is speaking at camps and clinics.
His stats are mind boggling:
- In 2005 he made 98.20% of his shots (35,332 out of 35,979 shots).
- In the summer of 2007, he spoke at 31 camps and shot an unbelievable 99.19% (11,093 out of 11,183 shots), including 260 for 281 from the 3-point line (92.52%).
- During 3 camps, he was perfect from the field during his lecture:
- June 25, 2007 at the University of Maryland he was 263 for 263.
- July 28, 2007 at the CT Starters camp he was 339 for 339.
- August 2, 2007 at UCLA he was 272 for 272
