In an interview with Australia’s news.com.au reporter Matthew Sullivan, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey spoke about the addition of renowned shooting coach Chip Engelland.
Engelland is one of the best shooting coaches in the league. He spent the last 17 years with the San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder signed Engelland this offseason, and many automatically thought Giddey would be the biggest beneficiary of the addition.
Giddey’s shooting is his biggest offensive question mark. If he can develop into a respectable outside threat, that’ll unlock a different level to his game.
Engelland’s coaching can turn that possibility into reality, and it sounds like Giddey is fully on board.
“‘Shooting was a big one for me this offseason,’ Giddey said.
‘Spent a lot of time in the gym getting up shots. Obviously having Chip Engelland here — one of the best shooting coaches if not the best in the world — here at the Thunder is someone that’s perfect for me to use as much as possible. He’s been great.’
Asked if Engelland has tweaked his shooting style at all, Giddey said: ‘Not really. Chip’s hard to explain. He’s a wizard with what he does.
It’s not unorthodox but it’s different to every other coach that I’ve had, who’s said, ‘Shoot this way.’ Chip is one of the best guys I’ve been around. He’s obviously been doing this for so long with San Antonio.
‘When I found out he was coming to OKC, I was very excited for that and knew he was someone I was going to be spending a lot of time with. He’s been great and I’m looking forward to continuing to work with him.'”
It’s exciting to hear Giddey and Engelland are on the same page and an interesting peek behind the curtains of the latter’s coaching style as not much is known about it.
Giddey’s shooting will likely be a multiyear project that might not show results right away this season, so patience is virtue for Thunder fans when it comes to seeing the 19-year-old develop a jumper.
