After Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka was hired this offseason, he brought along Ben Sullivan. Sullivan worked under Udoka as an assistant with the Boston Celtics during the 2021-22 season.
The Celtics embodied the meaning of defense that season and made it all the way to the NBA Finals because of it. However, Sullivan was a big factor in developing Boston's solid shooting from stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
Sullivan was the Rockets Summer League coach and pulled the strings to a 4-0 pre-playoffs record. Houston won its semi-final game against the Utah Jazz but lost the Summer League Championship game 99-78 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Sullivan's shooting prowess has already rubbed off on some of the players, as the Rockets averaged 110.2 points in their first five Summer League games. However, The Athletic's Kelly Iko reported that Sullivan doesn't like being called a "shooting guru," as he praises someone else for the nickname.
"I worked in San Antonio with Chip Engelland, one of the great teachers of shooting and the game," Sullivan said. "And he’s also, to me, one of the best coaches of coaches out there. He really taught me how to teach. And for that I’ll never be able to repay him fully. He’s one of the people I owe a lot to.
Engelland has been an assistant coach for four teams since 1999. His longest stint was with the San Antonio Spurs from 2005-2022, as he made the playoffs 14 times and won the NBA Finals twice.
Sullivan explained that Engelland taught him how to read a player's shooting form through biometrics, but also to understand their mentality and how they hold the ball itself. However, Sullivan quickly understood that every player is different.
"With each individual person, it’s kind of like a baseball swing or a golf swing or a snowflake," Sullivan said. "They’re all similar, but they’re all uniquely different. And each person’s shot is very specific to their own body, their own mind and how they’re made up."
Sullivan said that the best way to improve each individual player is by building a bond with them. He hopes to continue using what he's learned from Engelland but wants to bring his own expertise to Houston.
"You have to go in and evaluate where they are physically, mentally, what’s their relationship with their shot," Sullivan said. "You build a plan around that after getting to know them, what they’re about, what they’re looking to improve."
"Being a shooting coach, that was my title but that’s not my current title," Sullivan said. "Now it’s more something that I do, it’s something that I’ll work on guys with, but that’s not all that I do."
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