by Cory Wright August 24, 2017 | BrooklynNets.com
Allen Crabbe is flanked by kids at the Brooklyn Nets Basketball Academy, all eager to meet the newest Net and one of the NBA's best three-point shooters. Questions are asked, selfies are sought and the kids are trying to impress him by showing off their skills.
He's only been in New York about three weeks and a Net for about four after being acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers on July 25, but he's very popular in this room. The camp is part of his introduction to the city and the fan base, as he settles into his new life with the Nets.
"New York is cool man, I'm glad to be here," Crabbe said on Thursday. "I'm just getting acclimated with the city, trying to learn my whereabouts and where all the fun stuff is outside of basketball practice and all that."
Crabbe's into his fashion, as evidenced by his social media accounts, so he's drawn to Soho and 5th Ave., but like most of his teammates will live in Brooklyn. The former Blazer is originally from LA, so while he's accustomed to big city living, he's picked up on the East Coast hustle early on.
"It's definitely faster pace out here," he said. "People are a little more aggressive and you see it on the road with all the honking and just the crazy driving. But I like it out here, I really do."
But Crabbe is here to work and that's what he's been doing with his time in Brooklyn. The 25-year-old's a naturally-gifted shooter, hitting 44% of his three-pointers last season, the second-highest percentage in the NBA, so he's devoting himself to rounding out his game.
"Mainly it's just getting my body stronger, putting on weight," Crabbe said. "Trying to sharpen up on my handling and all that stuff because it's definitely going to be a bigger role for me over here in Brooklyn. I'm going to be able to show a lot more and display a lot of my skill set with my team."
But that doesn't mean he neglects his jumper. Crabbe's usual offseason target is 300 made threes and while that'd take most people all day in the gym, it's relatively easy for him. The sharpshooter will be the three-point piece to Kenny Atkinson's Nets puzzle.
"For the most part shooting comes naturally and everybody has a special gift that they have when they play and I feel like shooting is my gift, so I really tend to focus on other weaknesses in my game in the offseason," Crabbe said.
But Crabbe is here to work and that's what he's been doing with his time in Brooklyn. The 25-year-old's a naturally-gifted shooter, hitting 44% of his three-pointers last season, the second-highest percentage in the NBA, so he's devoting himself to rounding out his game.
"You can get up 300 shots, or 1000 shots, but if you get game rep shots, that's defeating the purpose of shooting a bunch of standstill 1000 jumpers. In reality, you're going to shoot game shots, so you have to work out at game speed so it can translate from workouts to the game."
Crabbe said he's doing more conditioning work than he's done in the past, noting the emphasis the Nets put on their player's fitness. It's a pre-requisite for joining the team that played the NBA's fastest pace (103.58) last season.
For now, Crabbe's still settling in off the court, getting to know his new teammates and new city.
"It's nerve-wracking coming from a team that you've been with for four years and all of the relationships you've built over there and all of the sudden you have to up and leave it and start new ones over here," Crabbe said. "It's been cool so far, guys have been cool to work with and be around. It can only get better from here."