Kyle Korver wants to climb stairs of 73-storey building 50 times in a day
Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver had a mountain to climb in recovering from a pair of offseason surgeries - and now he wants to simulate climbing a real mountain.
According to ESPN's Tom Haberstroh, the sharpshooter practices the ancient Japanese ritual of misogi, wherein people undertake physical challenges designed to push the boundaries of human limits.
Coming off the surgical procedures, Korver wanted to climb the steps of a 73-storey Los Angeles skyscraper 50 times - about 29,000 feet and the height of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain - in one day.
"It's a little safer ... than actually climbing Mount Everest," Korver told Haberstroh, adding that he scrapped the plan due to timing, but intends to try it next summer.
The 13-year NBA veteran has taken on other tasks of misogi, such as running underwater with a 85-pound rock, under the supervision of sports scientist Marcus Elliott, who admitted that rehabilitating Korver is a challenge. The 34-year-old was knocked out of last year's playoffs due to ruptured ankle ligaments and underwent surgeries on his ankle and elbow.
"We basically had to put him back together," Elliott told ESPN.
The on-court results have been mixed so far this season. Korver - who recorded the fourth-highest true shooting percentage of all time in 2014-15 - is shooting a more human 37.5 percent from deep, down from his career average of 43.2. In a win last Friday over the New Orleans Pelicans, however, he didn't miss a single shot, finishing 8-for-8 from the floor, 4-of-4 from deep, and 2-of-2 from the line.
The key to Korver's historic accuracy is his ability to deftly navigate off-ball screens which, beyond basketball IQ, is governed by agility, conditioning, and age.
"In the NBA, if you lose 20 percent of what you had, there are very few guys who can keep playing," Elliott said. "I was really worried about him."
Korver has sat out two games this season.