One again this offseason it seems some key NBA players lost a substantial amount of weight… while others found it. In most cases, the scaled tipped in the right direction to benefit the players and their teams, but those Nike uniforms might be fitting a little snugger or looser on opening night.
The biggest, most talked about frame change this offseason has been the San Antonio Spurs' future of the league big man Victor Wembanyama. Wemby reportedly gained 25 pounds of muscle this offseason. He was noticeably thin as a rookie — but you try being a 7'3″ 20 year old who runs around the court all night and see if you can gain mass!
But with some time off and a game plan this offseason, and the Spurs training staff helping him along the way, Wemby was able to fill out that lanky frame of his, and should be even more of a force down low.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the scales, New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson has reportedly lost over 20 pounds. Williamson's weight has been a hot topic of discussion ever since he entered the league, with many experts wondering if his persistent foot and leg injuries could be lessened if he lost some substantial weight.
Now they'll be able to put those theories to the test, as Williamson is apparently hitting the gym every day at 6am with the goal of getting down to a fighting weight of 272 pounds by opening night.
Williamson had his best, most complete and injury-free season last year — and had the Pelicans on the verge of beating the mighty Lakers in their play-in tournament matchup. However, when Williamson went down with a left hamstring strain with 3:13 left in a tie game, so did the Pelicans chances, and Zion realized a change was necessary this offseason.
Another injury-prone big man whose large frame seems to fail him at times has been the Philadelphia 76ers' superstar Joel Embiid. Embiid surprised reporters at media day by revealing he had lost 25 or 30 pounds during the offseason. His knee injury last year held him out of much of the regular season, and was a big factor in the 76ers first-round playoff exit at the hands of the New York Knicks.
The hope is that a slimmed down Embiid will take pressure off of his knees, and keep him on the court and healthy for the regular season as well as a deep playoff run.
Victor Wembanyama, Zion Williamson and Joel Embiid are the biggest names with substantial weight changes ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season, but there were plenty of others with minor fluctuations. The main question of course is how these body changes will affect the players' level of play once the season begins, and for that answer, we'll just have to wait a couple more weeks.