Tim Grover is one of the most experienced trainers in the NBA, having experience working with the likes of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant. He knows how stars are created. In the 2016 NBA draft, there a couple of players that already have the potential to become superstars in the NBA, starting with Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram. Both players got off to good starts in the summer league, and they’re hoping to build off that, especially Ingram who is joining a Lakers team in need of some leadership. Ingram’s tall yet slim frame has made people compare him to Kevin Durant and with that type of arm span, they’re right to do so.
Despite that, Ingram also shares another characteristic with Durant, they were both way too skinny when they entered the league. Ingram has tried to stay proactive with that process by eating 5,000-6,000 calories a day during his time with Duke University, but Tim Grover says if he continues that process he can be in trouble. According to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes:
“That’s how they’re going to fail in the NBA,” Grover says. “[Weight gain should be] a slow process. These are basketball players. These aren’t body builders. They move. They perform. They have to perform out there. So they know how their body feels. You can’t just pack all this amount of weight on there and expect them to still be able to have the shooting touch and move the same way.”
So when Ingram calls his daily diet “sickening,” he may also be talking about years of ad nauseam “skinny” chatter. But when he says he’s trying to stick to it, well, that comes after years of food not sticking to him.
The Lakers took Ingram with the 2nd overall pick, hoping to turn the franchise around and add a young talented prospect on the wing, along with their already youthful cast of players. Alongside Jordan Clarkson, D’Angelo Russell, and Julius Randle, Ingram could be a catalyst to turn around this Lakers franchise. But just like with dieting, everything has to be done gradually and correctly, which the Lakers seem like they’re doing.
