If you watch the Denver Nuggets, you may have seen a super jacked dude with dreadlocks on the sidelines. That is Steve Hess, the Nuggets’ Head Strength Coach for the past two decades. The 49-year-old South African is royalty in the NBA’s Strength and Conditioning circles, according to the opening of this interview Hess did with Bro Bible.
In the interview, Hess gives some life advice in terms of diet and exercise. He also says he prefers Sylvester Stallone to Arnold Schwarzenegger, although he had to be cajoled into making a choice. However, from an NBA perspective, it’s the insight he can give on NBA players that is the most intriguing.
Hess was asked, by Bro Bible, who was pound-for-pound the strongest player he had ever been exposed to, and his answer, surprisingly, was Earl Boykins. “If you’re talking about pure strength pound for pound, not even close. He bench pressed 315 pounds and the dude weighed 150. Dude was a genetic freak,” said Hess. Boykins stands a mere 5’5, and he’s listed as weighing 133 pounds, so that’s really impressive.
He also went into who were the best athletes he has worked with, saying, “If we’re talking athletes: J.R. Smith, Nate Robinson. But Antonio McDyess. Oh my God. The dude had a 44 inch vertical. He was a beast.” Hess actually has some good things to say about Smith, who is not generally perceived as being the most serious guy. Hess calls him a “warrior,” though, so maybe we’ve got the wrong idea of him. These are the things you can learn when you listen to a Strength and Conditioning Coach, apparently.
(Via Bro Bible)
