Get it now
The Basketball Podcast: EP390 with Chris Holguin on NBA Defense and Using CLA
In this week’s basketball coaching conversation, Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Chris Holguin joins the Basketball Podcast to share insights on NBA Defense and Using CLA.
Chris Holguin is entering his 10th season with the LA Clippers, where he currently serves as an Assistant Coach. A native of El Paso, Texas, Holguin’s path began as a student manager at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He went on to coach high school basketball at the Maret School in Washington D.C., served as Operations Assistant at his alma mater UTSA, and worked with the Reno Bighorns of the NBA G League before joining the Clippers in 2016. Since then, he has advanced through roles including Video Coordinator, Player Development Coach, and Two-Way Coach, steadily building his reputation within the organization.
Over the past decade, Holguin has worked extensively with rookies, two-way players, and NBA veterans while also traveling globally to train Clippers All-Stars. Known for his defensive focus and passion for player development, Holguin has become a trusted voice who thrives on growth, connection, and teaching, making him a valued part of the organization for nearly a decade.
Listen Here:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
YouTube
Stitcher
Art19
Chris Holguin Quotes:
“I always looked at every single day and every single moment like an open book. So even if I thought I knew something differently or if I spoke up, I would just listen first, then gather my thoughts and be like, ‘Okay, this makes sense.’ And it’s really helped me grow not only as a coach, as a lifelong learner . . just trying to be curious has always really helped me.”
“We want to take away what the offense wants most. And to me, the offense wants to play in space . . so just the elimination space versus all these alignments by simple things like just being more square, closing out square into the chest, and then every time we could sending it to the crowd and just making sure that we’re taking away what the offense wants most.”
“No one’s going to make us play cautious defense. And so, we were more aggressive in different ways. We picked our spots . . and just upping the physicality, upping the ball pressure and not being afraid to go attack the ball.”
“Our goal is to make [the offense] pick it up as far out as possible. If we make him pick it up and we can close out, we just sprint to his body and we’re square.”
“Defense is hard and defense can be boring. Defense is going to be 82 games of making you shoot tough shots over and over and over. That’s kind of how we work . . You have to be able to attack the ball. It’s not a skill that everybody has, so we have to work on it as much as we can, whether it’s in our defensive vitamins or group work.”
“We don’t want to ever extend our defense. We want to take away space. So, appropriate ball pressure, depending on who you are, depending on who the offensive player is, we give an appropriate cushion . . So, enough ball pressure to where you’re not overextending and enough cushion where he can feel you as well.”
“If you’re going to improve your defense, you have to have guys that want to be challenged. You have to have guys that have goals of being strong defensively and that want to be coached.”
[On improving defensive rebounding] “It was definitely technique and just kind of a physicality aspect of it . . We talk about it every day, ‘Turn, check, and hit.’ . . Wembanyama is 7’4. So, you add terminology. You’ve got to hit them earlier and you’ve got to carve out your radius . . Did you carve out your radius? Because these bigger guys, if you hit them and check, it’s too late because you’re not there early enough . . It’s all based on terminology and really easy teaching cues.”
Chris Holguin Breakdown:
Chris Holguin Selected Links from the Podcast:
Chris Hoguin
Lawrence Frank
Steve Ballmer
Brendan O’Connor
Tyronn Lue
Jeff Van Gundy
Jay Larranaga
Mike Woodson
Jeremy Castleberry
Dahntay Jones
Conor Dunleavy
Quan Ngo
Tim Dather
Please Support the Podcast
As we build our podcast following please take the time to support the Basketball Podcast. Our goal is to openly share as much useful basketball coaching info to stimulate your coaching.
- Tell your friends about us.
- Give us a shout out on social media.
- Give us a five star review wherever you listen to podcasts.
How to leave a podcast review at iTunes
Go to the iTunes page of the Basketball Podcast.
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-basketball-podcast/id1398261897
Click the View in iTunes button.
View in iTunes
At iTunes, click the Ratings and Reviews tab.
Select Ratings and Reviews
Rate the podcast using 1 to 5 stars.
Submit a brief honest review.