Last year, OJ Mayo was handed a two-year suspension by the NBA for violating the terms of its anti-drug policy. Since then, the former shooting guard has been off the radar with only a few intermittent appearances in far off places.
But Mayo may not be out of the picture for too long. The former third overall pick is training again and has lost weight, hoping to make an NBA comeback soon.
The first evidence was shown by Taj Gibson, Mayo’s former USC teammate who is now training with the guard:
Bryan Kalbrosky of Hoopshype added more detail:
According to those who worked with him, he came in out of shape at 240 pounds — much heavier than his listed weight online. However, since he started training at this gym in July, he is down to 219 pounds, [trainer Travelle] Gaines told HoopsHype on Monday. This is a huge loss over the course of five weeks.
Mayo has another full year before he can be reinstated. There are also important non-basketball issues at play here regarding Mayo’s apparent misuse of drugs. So, it’s promising to see that he is refocused on basketball. Perhaps, he’ll be able to return to his career with renewed success.
