D'Angelo Russell has kept his offseason regimen relatively quiet, prioritizing rest and healing and limiting the amount of pick-up games he plays during the summer. While many take part in multiple of these during an extensive three months without basketball, the new Golden State Warriors addition has learned from this very mistake from the past.
Let's rewind to the start of the 2017-18 season, one in which Russell had just been shipped to the Brooklyn Nets after being traded by the Los Angeles Lakers. The lefty point guard attacked that summer in hopes to prove his value to his next team, but noted he overdid it.
“I was trying to lose body weight, body fat, so I was killing myself,” said Russell, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Two, three workouts a day.”
Russell was scoring more than 20 points per game to start his third season, but his left knee was hurting. He got it checked out by team doctors and they suggested arthroscopic surgery, which put him on the shelf for two months.
“It was just too much wear and tear,” said Russell. “You play so many games through AAU, high school, college. Then the NBA, you play 82-plus. Travel plays a part. Then in the summertime, you beat yourself up in 5-on-5s and try to keep yourself going. But at the end of the day, your body is taking it. Your mind may be elevating getting that work in, but your body’s still taking it.”
This time around, Russell is using training camp and the preseason to fully gear up for an 82-game regular season.
“He has to get his legs underneath him,” said head coach Steve Kerr. “He’s not a guy who plays a ton of pickup ball in the summer. He uses the preseason to get his condition.”
The 6-foot-5 guard started to do so last summer after dealing with the consequences of a knee scope.
“Um, yeah,” he said. “I try to limit my pick-up basketball. It’s not safe, for one. Then two, I think it’s load managing, manage my body the best I can.”
The Warriors will need a full season out of Russell if they are to make the playoffs, and he seems to have managed his effort wisely in hopes of maxing out his durability.
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