The Great Weight Debate
This season, several players came into camp with their bodies reshaped. Chris Bosh and Rajon Rondo both got jacked over the summer - each adding 15-20 pounds of mass to their once skinny frames. Other guys like Caron Butler, Quentin Richardson and Tim Duncan all dropped weight to increase efficiency and reduce the risk of injuries. The question is whether these body transformations actually translate into better performances on the court.
Obviously players need to be in shape. There are players like Anthony Randolph and Brandon Jennings that will need to put on more mass and there are guys like Shaq that could sometimes drop a few pounds. But is completely reshaping your body necessary?
There’s a reason why the NBA doesn’t have a steroid problem and why people don’t come in looking like body builders. Basketball is a skill and finesse game. Guys like Allen Iverson, Reggie Miller and Dikembe Mutombo have made it their entire careers without seeing a weight room. John Stockton’s weight stayed at 175 pounds nearly his entire career and I couldn’t imagine him playing the same with even 10 extra pounds on his frame.
So far in the season, most the players who have reshaped their figures have arguably played better. Bosh has been in beast mode this season averaging 28.5 ppg and 11.8 rpg – which is an upgrade from last season’s stats of 22.7 points and 10 rebounds. Rondo’s new muscles have not hurt the mechanics of his jump shot, if anything it’s helped as he is shooting 59.4 percent over 50 percent last year.
“With Rajon and Chris, they needed at their age to put on muscle,” says Mike Procopio, Director of Basketball Skills Development at Attack Athletics. “Both those guys were very skinny for their size and position. They did a good job with their bodies over the offseason especially Chris playing a very physical position.”
Sometimes the extra mass can affect a players’ quickness and even their basketball skills. I remember when Jim Jackson got to the Sixers years back and he had gotten so muscular that he didn’t move and play as fluidly as he did in Dallas. Procopio stresses that as long as a player maintains his shooting and basketball routine while he is trying to add muscle then his game won’t suffer.
There comes a point in a lot of skinny players’ careers where they feel they need to put on weight to absorb the beating their bodies take. When players get older and can’t rely on their dunking and athleticism as much, they reshape their bodies. We saw it when Jordan in the late ’80s, when he hit the weight room hard to combat the physical abuse he was getting from the Pistons and Knicks. We saw T-Mac do it as well when he got to Orlando and Stephon Marbury when he was a Net. Even Stephen Curry is looking more stacked since his Davidson days. Jennings might be killing it now, but some people think he will hit the rookie wall early because he is so thin.
On the flip side, many players feel they have to drop weight to prolong their careers. Richardson shed over 25 pounds in the offseason and has improved in every statistical category. Both Duncan and Butler have rebounded the ball a lot better since they each dropped 10-15 pounds since last year. Duncan had also stressed that losing weight was going to save his knees. Procopio agrees it will.
“Guys like Tim and Quentin are at that age where they don’t want to carry that extra weight,” Procopio says. “The more you can lose, obviously, there’s less stress on the knees and joints.”
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November 9th, 2009 at 11:11 am
The REAL Tyrone says:
Ain’t no doubt y’all that cats be focussin’ on dem bodies this year yo. Ain’t no way catz can be ballerz if dey ain’t be eatin’ rite and be exercisin yo. Catz who ain’t focussed like dat be endin up like Eddy Curry – punkass loser who b a waste of human being.
November 9th, 2009 at 11:25 am
George W Kush Sr says:
It helps Bosh alot, he still has quick feet but now is stronger and takes up soom room now. In this case the numbers aren’t lying
November 9th, 2009 at 11:26 am
That's whats up says:
more bulk up top means more stress on the knees.
…and Tyrone’s still stupid
November 9th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Xavier says:
And yet again Dime ignores Marc Gasol? Hes the most obvious “before and after” player in the league today! his numbers are pretty great right now and he looks like a different person altogether.
Remember that B-Roy and Sean May also lost weight
November 9th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Bron42 aka Had Springs before Slamball says:
Wow way to state the obvious guys…fat people r better athletes losin weight..skinny people are better getting a little stronger. Wats next, gonna enlighten us how right handed people write better righty? As long as you don’t turn into ronni coleman, stronger is usually better. And bein fat puts more stress on ur joints. You let out bradon Roy droppin down to 215 cuz he felt slow last year
November 9th, 2009 at 11:39 am
life-p says:
lol@ that’s what’s up!!
November 9th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Dr.Googles says:
LOL@1
This guy will be in need of a translator soon..
November 9th, 2009 at 11:47 am
Sparkyjay23 says:
Shaq could drop a few pounds?
No shit sherlock – ifhe droped 40 he’d be a damn beast again
November 9th, 2009 at 11:56 am
control says:
An article about being fat and Zach Randolph isn’t mentioned? Or Eddy Curry? What up with that?
“and there are guys like Shaq that could sometimes drop a few pounds” that is like a hall of fame understatement, and a threat to pop into the obvious statement hall of fame as well.
November 9th, 2009 at 11:57 am
sxrs says:
wow dime, an article titled ‘the great weight debate’ and no mention of curry
November 9th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Diggity Dave says:
You can tell the effect it’s had on Quentin Richardson. He says he dropped 25 lbs, but looking at photos, it looks like more than that. He’s having a very solid start to the season, averaging 10ppg and 6rpg for the Heat while shooting 43% from three. After being passed around like a blunt, I never imagined he’d be a starter for us.
D’Antoni made a joke about it saying “that’s what a contract year will do to you”, but at least he gave enough of a crap to get in shape.
November 9th, 2009 at 11:59 am
sh!tfaced says:
More joints will definitely lessen the stress…
November 9th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Chicagorilla says:
@3,
That’s not the REAL Tyrone. Because the REAL Tyrone always lets you know at the end of each post that:
True Thugs never lie
The Real Tyrone
or some shit like that. Disappointing too, cause I wanted so bad to believe that this was a real person, but knowing its some lame, kinda makes it racist.
November 9th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Chicagorilla says:
@11
Don’t trust it. Q is trying to get that last contract. And I wouldn’t brag about how great he’s been seeing as how he keeps getting his ass lit up by nearly everyone he’s guarding. I think Deng even gave to him…in the post no less.
Q-Rich is one of the most disappointing dudes to ever come out of Chicago. Pisses me off too. He used to bang in the post and played smothering Defense. Then he went to Phx and lost his f^king mind. Starting shooting 3’s like he was a sharpshooter. But never managed to shoot a good percentage. Miami needs another threat, and he could be that threat, but it may take too much work for him to do, so he prefers to sit on the perimeter shooting 3’s.
November 9th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Beth G says:
how about ODEN?
November 9th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
yoda says:
then again, there are players like kobe. remeber when few years ago he bulked up, put some nice muscle weight on him, so he could play more of a small forward. he was bit slower. then next year he lost weight and he’s back at his rubber man shape. ofcourse hes slower now, but that comes with age. i think that problem with players who put alot of muscle weight in offseason is that they do too much of weight lifting without some stretching or what ever, to keep their bodys flexible.
November 9th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Soopa says:
I watched Butler last night and he looked to have a bigger ass and seems slower then usual. Dunno tho…
Remember Bibby back in the Kings years? One year he comes back with noticeable larger arms, pure muscle but his shot was never the same after bulking up.
Seeing as Rondo has no J that seems irrelevant, but with his game it makes a lot of sense bulking up.
Basketball players need core strength, not big arms. Players like Steve Nash are revolutionary with their workouts and his game (and his jump shot) speaks for it self i guess.
November 9th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Diggity Dave says:
@14
For a guy who was traded to the Heat as an afterthought, I’m happy with how he’s pitched in.
November 9th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
chris says:
you have dismissed the steroid issue in the nba far too lightly. steroids help to recover quickly from injuries, and i would be shocked if nba players haven’t used steroids short term to speed recovery on many occasions.
the other steroid issue is height, which you can’t teach, but you can increase, in men up to about age 23, with human growth hormone, tweaked or untweaked. ‘growth spurts’ in basketball players between 18 and 22 are not unheard of, and there are lots of 6′8″ players who wouldn’t be in the league if they were 6′4″.
November 9th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
au61458 says:
Nro 5 (Bron42 aka Had Springs before Slamball says:) was definetly on point. No shit!?
November 9th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
tyrone is a douche says:
tyrone (the real or unreal) is a douche.
November 12th, 2009 at 2:11 am
EXPO336 says:
I MEAN ITS NO EXCUSE, YOUR GETTING PAID TO PLAY BALL…SOMETHING IM SURE THAT WE ALL LOVE TO DO… YOUR BODY AND THE WAY YOU TAKE CARE OF IT, AND HOW YOU PERFORM BASICALY DICTATES HOW WELL YOUR FAM IS GONNA EAT THIS YEAR…NO BRAINER ON THIS ONE!