Chris Matthews, also known as “Lethal Shooter,” is one of the most sought-after shooting coaches in the NBA. His clientele spans from WNBA and NBA players to celebrities and recording artists.

Matthews’ clients include Las Vegas Aces forward Candace Parker, L.A. Lakers forward Anthony Davis, Phoenix Mercury guard Skylar Diggins-Smith, Diplo, and Drake.

 

He recently coached Bad Bunny’s pro basketball team, Los Cangrejeros de Santurce, in Puerto Rico.

Matthews learned at an early age the importance of being consistent and having a positive mindset.

 

His father would always tell him that he was a good shooter.

“I was always second-guessing myself until I got to middle school,” Matthews said. “I was playing with other middle schoolers and I was shooting way better than these guys, but it contributed to how much he was helping me understand that consistency, a lot of people don’t do.”

 

Growing up in the Washington D.C. area taught him toughness, it also taught him how to be aware of the company he keeps.

“A lot of friends that I grew up with died, a lot of my friends that are my friends now, they’ve been shot,” Matthews said.

 

“It was teaching me as a young man what I need to be around and what I didn’t need to be around.”

Matthews remained focused on basketball, which led him to getting a college scholarship at Washington State. After his sophomore year, he transferred to St. Bonaventure University to be closer to home.

 

“I was prepared for the moment, I was prepared to show everybody that I have matured,” Matthews said. “My freshman year at Washington State, I wasn’t mature at all.”

 

After college, Matthews played basketball overseas in several countries, including Russia, Mexico, Brazil and France. Competing ­overseas matured him as a player and as a person.

 

“Seeing different cultures from a different lens, it definitely molded me to realize more of my full potential,” Matthews said. “To play overseas for those seven years was a dream come true.”

The many members of Matthew’s support system benefited his life in various ways.

That experience taught him how to provide different resources to his clients when he became a trainer.

“You can’t go and teach five people and teach them the same type of way because everybody’s a different learner,” Matthews said.

 

“Growing up, I was blessed to have so many people that were invested to helping me and they all were teaching me different things a different type of way.”

He observes his client’s body language while competing and while on the sidelines to get a gauge of how to coach them.

 

“I watch your body language when things don’t go your way, I watch all of your tendencies,” Matthews said. “Then I have different types of strategies that I use to manipulate all of that for the positive.”

 According to Matthews, shooting is about a person finding their own form that will allow them to make a shot on a consistent basis. He noted how people can have different footwork or hold the ball differently, yet achieve a similar result.

 

“If you look at Klay Thompson, Ray Allen, Steph Curry, different shooters, when they’re wide open, they shoot the same shot every single time.

But those same three people have three different shots,” Matthews said.

“Sometimes people say, ‘what’s the perfect fundamental shot?’  Me personally, no shot’s perfect.”

 

Although he never played for the NBA, Matthews has done several collaborations with the league.

 

“For the NBA to invite me to the draft to be doing collabs with the commissioner and when they have NBA Vegas Summer League, they want me to be there with the rookies to talk about life,” Matthews said. “I think I’m doing exactly what I need to be doing right now for society.”

 

One of the mentors that helped elevate his game was Chicago Bulls legend Craig Hodges.

 

Matthews used to play for his league in Canada. Hodges coached Matthews and talk to him about his stint coaching for the L.A. Lakers, working with Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant every day.

 

“Craig Hodges was in the gym teaching me different things that I can do to elevate my shooting ability,” Matthews said.

“We’d be sitting up until three, four in the morning talking about what he used to do with basketball and what I needed to do.”

• < Prev
• Next >