Paul Fabritz: How Coaching General Population Clients Led to Training James Harden, Joel Embiid & Mac McClung

When it came time to pick a major at Arizona State University (ASU), Paul Fabritz chose Exercise and Wellness. Little did he know that just a few short years later, he’d be training one of the school’s most storied basketball players and would then become one of the most in-demand coaches for NBA pros and the collegiate ballers trying to get to their level.

After graduating from ASU, Paul tried to build up a personal training customer base by handing out flyers on campus. This marketing fell flat, so he went to work at LA Fitness. Though he wasn’t making much money due to the gym’s bargain basement pricing model, working with general population clients of all ages and abilities honed his soft skills in ways that would prepare him for what came next.

“I was only making six dollars for a 30-minute personal training session,” Paul said. “I’d coach people at the gym, in their apartment, or at a local park. I finally started working with some athletes, and some basketball players got some really good results doing free sessions for them. Word spread and soon I had people driving hours to come from all over Arizona and train with me.”  

Making the Move to LA

As he built up his burgeoning business through long, hard hours, Paul realized that to take the next step in his career, he had to go to a bigger market. Although some pros would come and train with him during their summer offseason and he was next door to a Pac-12 basketball powerhouse, the real opportunities lay in cities that had at least one NBA team.

“A player from UCLA who’d torn his ACL and couldn’t get his jump back came to me,” Paul said. “I helped him rehab and add seven inches to his vertical, and he got a roster spot in the NBA. Rob Pelinka found out about it and brought me out to LA. He convinced me I needed to move there. So I threw all my stuff in a trash bag and was gone.”

While he saw the potential of forging a connection with a power broker like Pelinka – who was then an agent and later became GM of the Lakers – making such a drastic and sudden move also led to Paul having to figure things out on the fly.

“I lived out of Airbnb places for a while and then in a side room with a family,” he said. “Then I set up shop in the storage area at one of the biggest sports arenas in California. I cleared everything out, put in rubber flooring, and got going.”

Although initially it might have seemed like a step back from the solid clientele he’d developed in Arizona, Paul’s gamble soon started paying off. Pelinka sent Duke point guard Tyus Jones to him to prepare for his pre-draft workouts, in which he performed well enough to be selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 24th pick. Happy with the results, Pelinka then sent over several more young players, who Paul also helped to get ready for their NBA rookie year.

Training James Harden

One of the most pivotal moments in Paul’s career came when he got the opportunity to coach a player who was already an All-Star talent and one of the premier scorers in the pro game and would soon be named MVP. While some trainers end up working with such players for many years – most famously Tim Grover guiding Michael Jordan and then Kobe Bryant – the initial arrangement is often an audition. And so it was for Paul with Harden – he’d have one shot to make a good first impression, and the Houston Rockets guard would then decide if they’d continue working together or not.

 “I just brought my med balls and bands because I didn’t know where we’d be training,” Paul said. “First, I asked him to do a mobility drill, but he said he didn’t want to do a lot of that. Then I suggested we go to a nearby high school weight room, and he didn’t like that idea either. Luckily, I found some areas where he needed to work on his mobility. So I gave him some drills and he loosened up. Then we started doing some med ball stuff and his energy level got higher. He realized that I wasn’t doing cookie-cutter exercises and was actually tailoring them to his body.”

Although the session was going well, Paul had to resist the temptation to go way outside Harden’s comfort zone and introduce novelty for its own sake. Yes, it was important to demonstrate competence and not just do the same things you see trainers doing with clients on Instagram. But Paul realized that to turn this single session into a longer-term partnership, he’d have to get through to Harden on a personal level.

“Luckily, we had the Arizona State connection,” Paul said. “You worry that if you just do the basics, then you’ll become replaceable. But I realized that you don't have to impress people with drills or throw in all the bells and whistles. You just give them exactly what they need, and then you win them over with your communication. The athletes you’re working with are geniuses, so you can’t fake them out in person like some people might try on social media. The number one thing is that they have to feel like their trainer is authentic, somebody that they feel like they can vibe with, and they’ve got the right type of energy. It’s the relationship that wins them over.”

Having proven himself, Paul was hired by Harden to work with him one-on-one throughout the rest of the offseason. During the summer, this included promotional trips with The Beard’s shoe sponsor, Adidas, to Beijing and Barcelona. The coaching relationship continued for five straight years, until Paul’s family commitments led to him making the difficult but necessary decision to no longer travel abroad with clients. During this time, he also started working with other players like Mo Bamba, 2023 MVP Joel Embiid, and dunk champion Mac McClung, as well as top college prospects wanting to get battle ready for their big leap into the league. Paul also founded PJF Performance to share his system with a wider audience.

No matter how high his career has soared, Paul still sticks with the same work ethic and ability to communicate with everyone that he developed while personal training kids, parents, and older folks in Phoenix. That’s what keeps the best players in the world coming back, as he helps them tap into their full potential and stay durable enough to handle the demands of the arduous NBA season.

To learn more from Paul, listen to part 1 of our conversation here and part 2 here. Also follow him on Instagram @pjfperformance . If you enjoyed these episodes of The Basketball Strong Podcast, please give us a good rating and review, and subscribe so you never miss an episode.