Breaking News: Kevin Durant Couldn’t Bench Press 185lbs at NBA Draft Camp
Memo to the NBA: You do NOT need to test Kevin Durant for steroids or HGH.
This is really amazing. One of the standard NBA draft workouts is max reps on 185 pounds and Kevin Durant couldn’t lift the bar once. Durant was the only prospect in Orlando who couldn’t bench 185 pounds even once… I know he is terrific - but for a power forward about to enter the NBA… who has had months to work on his draft workouts…. this is pathetic!
185 lbs isn’t even a big bench press - the NFL does their draft workouts on 225… and Brady Quinn did 28 reps!
Hell… even our own blogger SportsRumblings did 28 reps on 135 at an elevation of 8,150ft:
Tags: benchpress, Brady Quinn, Kevin Durant, NBA Draft
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June 4th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
LMFAO! So how much am I getting for being his body double in the pic? He’s weaker than Mr. Burns!
June 4th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
[…] According the ESPN’s Chad Ford, Greg Oden was superb at today’s NBA draft workout (we already discussed how Durant did the opposite): […]
June 5th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
durant is a small forward
June 5th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Of course he can’t bench 185, his arms are the size of the friggin bar. And who cares how much he can bench, it’s basketball.
June 5th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
What Brady Quinn benched any number of times has nothing to do with what Durant can bench. Compare apples to apples, Ryan Spoon.
June 5th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Chuck - while it’s not apples to apples… that’s worse for Durant! Durant couldn’t bench press 185 once! Go the local gym and pick any regular joe, put $100 on the table and ask him to bench 185. Done.
Meanwhile, Brady Quinn did 28 reps on 225… that’s an amazing difference.
June 5th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Bad athlete form Texas different sport; David Clyde #1 pick Texas Rangers. Clyde was described as the worst athlete on the team.
June 5th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
do you think that it will drop his draft stock? he is still going to make more money next year than you will in your lifetime, you think you could bench 20 million dollar bills? leave the kid alone, he is a sick ball player and learning to bench press 185 will not drop him past the 2nd spot in the draft…
and just to let you know, this is coming from a die hard Texas A&M fan…
June 5th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
When did the NBA become the NFL?
Are pro-days/combines going to control the NBA draft? Doubtful…
I would bet you that John Stockton couldn’t even squat 185 pounds.
June 6th, 2007 at 10:45 am
Ryan, go to your local gym, pick any regular joe, put $100 on the table and ask him if he could average 28.9 pts & 12.5 boards per game in the Big 12.
After they give you a dumbfounded look, walk away with your $100 safely in hand.
June 6th, 2007 at 10:49 am
JC - Terrific comment. You have me laughing out loud. I think Durant is great - don’t get me wrong, but the workouts suggest Oden is better suited for the NBA - he was amazing.
The fact that Durant didn’t prepare at all for this (if he did, he could surely lift 185) is shocking. And the other surprise to me is that he even attempted the bench press… surely he knew he couldn’t lift it… right?!
After doing more research, the only other major NBA draft pick in recent memory who failed to lift 185 was TJ Ford. Hey, he’s pretty good.
Also - Joakim Noah is awfully skinny… but he did 12 reps on 185. DURANT - WHATS UP!?
June 6th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
[…] Learning that back when I actually exercised, I was stronger than Kevin Durant. […]
June 6th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
of course strength is important Mr. “it’s just basketball’. Obviously you have never played basketball. It’s a contact sport first of all. If you are that weak you’ll get pushed around the court all day. Durant had better hit the gym hard NOW. I’m no athelete and I’m probably 15+ years older than Durant and on a good day I can bench 250.
June 7th, 2007 at 7:37 am
Since when has the “pre-draft Combine” replaced scouting during the regular season? I suspect this was a “leak” orchestrated by the Boston Celtics to try to get Durant moved down in the draft so that they could steal him away from Portland and Seattle (and Atlanta and Memphis). Mind games. Scare the competition and then snag Durant. The Celtics aren’t stupid. Kevin Durant is going to be the next great thing in the NBA. AND HE’S GOING TO SELL A LOT OF TICKETS!
June 11th, 2007 at 11:56 am
Ronnie Coleman can bench 500lbs. I guess he must be the best basketball player of all time! Obviously, there isn’t a direct correlation.
If brute strength really does matter for a small forward (which it doesn’t), this just means Durant has amazing potential. It’s a bit embarrassing for Durant but, realize this teenager is not at his physical peak and this hardly dooms his career.
June 25th, 2007 at 10:48 am
for what its worth brady quinn did 225 24 times not 28
June 28th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
[…] Durant couldn’t bench one rep at 185 in mini-camp, but that shouldn’t matter for his potential. BTW Durant looks like a kid at church on Easter. Nice outfit–your mom chose well. […]
July 30th, 2007 at 12:41 am
1st off, showing off how many times u can bench the 135 lbs is what they do at the wnba combine. So, in your case, u would be the record holder. 2nd, it doesnt matter how much you can bench in basketball, this aint football or baseball.
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:27 am
[…] America - this man was just elected into the baseball Hall of Fame?! Kevin Durant might not be able to bench press 185 pounds… but my guess is that he could do more than 40 pounds! The LA Times reports that 12 weeks ago, Tony Gwynn could only bench press 40 pounds. 40 freaking pounds! And he could only do 5 push-ups at a time. Surely this is a joke - right? I actually have no idea how you can physically bench press 40 pounds - the bar itself is 45 pounds. This means that Tony Gwynn was incapable of benching the bar before his Wheaties Diet. Amazing. […]
August 28th, 2007 at 11:08 am
i think that u dont neccesarly need arm strength to be good at basket ball, sure it helps with ball handling and power…but i dont think they would have put him in the nba if he was fitted to play right next to lebron greg oden, and amare…hes really weak and o neal cant shoot free throw s for jack but o neal is still a all star. and a freaking beast…so it shouldnt matter
December 6th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
kevin durant is still a young kid wit a developing body
it doesn’t matter how much you can bench
as long as you can play the game
his strength will come along someday if he works hard in the gym
February 20th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Ogden whats his name? is fairing well.
Hook em
March 8th, 2008 at 7:31 am
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