Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
As he observed Kevin Durant complete conditioning drills, study game footage and on-court drills, Dash Lovell saw the accomplished star player act like an grateful rookie.
Durant accepted praise and criticism with grace. He relished the repetitive exercises. He showed enthusiasm simply over scrimmaging with other NBA players.
When the Houston Rockets (14-5) host the Phoenix Suns (13-9) on Friday, Durant will likely convey a much more enjoyable demeanor than he experienced during last season in Phoenix amid overlapping injuries and disjointed chemistry.
“I love seeing KD have fun again,” Lovell told RG.org.
Lovell, who trains numerous NBA players at ProActive Sports in Thousand Oaks, California, spoke with RG.org about Durant’s offseason regimen, his eighth-place standing on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, and his early chemistry with the Rockets.
Editor’s note: The following one-on-one interview has been edited and condensed.
Interview with Dash Lovell
– How did the offseason work go with KD?
Lovell: This past summer, he spent a lot more time focusing on his body and making sure that his body felt well. He definitely got in the gym to work on a couple of things. He worked on handling double teams. Even with playing so many years, he’s still drawing the same type of attention. But the focus is to continue to be strong, be physical and be able to compete at a high level and make sure that his body felt well and make sure that he’s defending at a high level. His focus is definitely on trying to take care of his body and watching a lot of basketball. He’s also touching up on the little things to continue to get better.
– With all of these, what did the drills and day-to-day look like?
Lovell: Proactive out in West Lake (near Thousand Oaks, Calif.) at the ProActive gym. He spent a lot of time on the sand dunes just doing a lot of PT stuff and making sure that he recovers right. With the day-to-day, K is the first dude in the gym. He really took it seriously like it was year one for him. He’s a worker. He was really pushing himself. That’s what it looked like day-to-day: weight room, sand dunes doing high knees, defensive slides and sprinting up the hill. There was the courtwork. He’s a guy that has been in the league for so many years. And he still has the right mindset when it comes to approaching his day-to-day to get better as a player.
– What did KD show that gave you the impression that he was approaching it like it was year one?
Lovell: It was his preparation. He’s getting up early. He’s going to bed early. He would be the first one there lifting on a weekend and then canceling anything that interfered with his work. For example, if he had a commercial or something he had to do, if he didn’t do basketball first, he would say, ‘Nah, I’m not doing that. I got to get my work in first.’ He still put the game before everything else. That kind of approach is beautiful to see. It’s beautiful to watch. From the person that is on the outside and not playing to the person that is inspiring to play, he can show you how to get it done. He’s definitely a great example for young guys, older guys, or anybody. He just loves the game as well as life and business itself.
– What are the things that explain KD’s longevity in both years, and still producing at a high and efficient level?
Lovell: The way he takes care of his body, the way he eats, the way he approaches workouts. I know the word ‘gamespeed’ is thrown around very often. But he understands when to move at a certain level of explosiveness. His approach to those things lets you know year in and year out who he is. While most guys go through the motions a little bit, you’ll never get that from him. He’s never going to go through the motions. He never works out that way. He works out with purpose. So I think that’s one of the reasons why you’ve seen guys like him have such an efficient career.
– KD has climbed to eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list despite missing a whole season with his Achilles injury (2019-20) and having some other injuries afterwards. Where do you rank that accomplishment?
Lovell: He’s one of one, bro. You would never think that he had gotten hurt. With the way he moves, you would never know. After injuries, whatever the case may be and whatever he went through, he came back. Even at his age, he moves like he’s young. He stays youthful. That’s why you catch him going to high school kids’ games. He’s checking out who is in college coming up next. He’s always watching what’s next and what’s upcoming. He also watches old games. He watches new games. He stays youthful in that way. He’s constantly challenging himself to be taught, learn, and coachable. I think those are the things that keep him in that realm and make him one of one.
– On top of that, what did KD do to prepare playing with Alperen Şengün and Amen Thompson in hopes of maximizing the chemistry with them?
Lovell: He worked out of playing out of double teams. He watched film on where guys like getting the ball. He watched film on his teammates. There was a lot of film study, to be honest with you. There was a lot of film work with trying to get familiar with each player and getting familiar with what they do well and don’t do well. He’s always watched film. But that was one of the films really focused on going into that system to get an understanding and a feel for what they’re doing. That’s for any player. They’re going to watch film, study their new teammates and see what kind of style they have and how they play.
– What’s your early impressions on the chemistry that he established with them?
Lovell: I love seeing KD have fun again. That’s what I’m seeing. At his age, he’s having fun and being youthful. As a team, they are able to hold each other accountable. They are able to tell each other the truth. They are able to not take things personally. You can see that in the interviews. They’re running up on each other. They’re happy for each other. They’re competing. But they’re comfortable with being open to each other. That’s one of the things that has jumped out. That’s a sign of a really good team. They’re going to be dangerous deep into the playoffs and deep into the season. They care about each other. Usually people that care about each other tend to have each other’s back.
– Given Ime Udoka’s coaching credentials and connection with KD back in Brooklyn, in what ways do you think that has helped KD’s game?
Lovell: I feel KD always wants to be coached. That’s not the problem. I think Ime is a tough-nosed, grind-it-out tough type of coach. I think that’s right up his alley. People don’t know. KD is one of the ones that loves to compete. He loves playing the game. So I think that culture is perfect for him. There are people that are going to hold each other accountable and play a tough style of basketball. A lot of people don’t understand that’s how he likes playing the game, anyway.
– You started working with KD three years ago. What were the highlights of working with him the first two years?
Lovell: Just the runs and the competitiveness, he’s always trying to learn more. He’s always trying to find new ways to get better. He’s a student of the game. He’s never going to act like he’s not looking or watching. He’s always looking and watching at what everybody is doing. That’s one of the things that I picked up from him. He never gets done with learning. He continues to want to learn. We had a lot of runs in the summer. So whenever he was there, he played a lot of pickup.
– Which guys were playing against him?
Lovell: Guys like Evan Mobley, Chet Holmgren, Darius Garland, Trae Young, Paul George, and Michael Beasley. So we had a ton of guys.
– What were those games like?
Lovell: It was like watching an All-Star game for free (laughs). So think about that. You got some of the best players playing pickup that are All-Stars. People pay thousands of dollars to watch them play. And I get to see them right in front of me.
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