Do you even lift, bro?
Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry sure does, and to hear the team's director of athletic performance, Keke Lyles, tell it, that's a big reason Curry has turned his injury-prone label into an iron-man one.
When Lyles took over the role in the summer of 2013, he posited that Curry's troublesome ankle issues could be remedied by strengthening his hips and glutes, as detailed in a terrific piece from Tom Haberstroh of ESPN on Friday. Along with improving his body control and helping prevent injuries - take note that the Warriors somehow have 15 healthy players in the NBA Finals - Lyles' regime has Curry showing up his teammates in the weight room.
"He's probably 10 times stronger than what people think," Lyles said, pointing out that Curry can deadlift 400 pounds. "Steph's the second strongest on our team pulling that one. For his size, Steph is ridiculous strong."
The only player on the Warriors who can pull more weight on a trapbar dead lift than the 190-pound Curry is 270-pound center Festus Ezeli. For a visual, 400 pounds is roughly four full plates per side on the lift bar, and it's significantly more than you could probably deadlift, though it's only 40 percent of the way to the world record.
Whatever Curry's doing is working: He's played 78, 78, and 80 games in the past three seasons and just won his first MVP award. Even now, 96 games into the longest season of his career, Curry is firing on all cylinders, averaging 29 points and 6.5 assists in 38.4 minutes and showing no signs of fatigue.
