By Doug Haller / The Athletic
Almost like clockwork, Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant appears 90 minutes before each home game, walking onto the court, ready to get started. The road to 30,000 career points? It didn’t begin here, but the routine played a significant role.
Pregame shooting routines unfold every night across the NBA. Charlotte Hornets coach Charles Lee says they are like a “mental sanctuary” where players visualize and replicate what they’re about to face. Taylor Jenkins, coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, calls them confidence-boosting opportunities, a final primer before tipoff.
Golden State’s Stephen Curry is perhaps best known for his pregame shooting routine, but Durant’s is also legendary.
“Did you say it was legendary?” he said one day after practice.
OK, well known.
“Yeah, because I’ve been around for a while.”
Watching Durant work before a game is like watching Tiger Woods in his prime on the driving range: a peek behind the curtain, a glimpse of the process that leads to greatness.
Coaches constantly remind young players to work at game speed. This is what Durant does. Every single rep.
“If you go watch one of K.D.’s pregame workouts, like his 15 minutes on the court pregame, he’s in a full sweat,” former Suns assistant Miles Simon said. “It’s like he’s started the game already.”
Players approach this in different ways. Durant’s teammate Devin Booker says his pregame session is more about mindset than shooting.
“It’s hard to emulate the game, so the more you can zone out and imagine yourself in gamelike situations, the better,” he said.
Durant has adjusted his routine over the years, but the foundation never changes. It’s about fundamentals.
“Balance, follow through, get my legs up under me. But also try to get a sweat in,” said Durant, who recently became the eighth NBA player to reach 30,000 career points. “I think that’s the main thing. Not to go through the motions, so my first hard move is when the game starts. I want to push off and see how my body feels before the game.”
Pregame shooting has come a long way.
Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle recalled during his first season with the Boston Celtics that he warmed up by playing one-on-one against M.L. Carr.
“Back in those days, both teams were shooting at both baskets,” Carlisle said, “and we’re weaving in and out of guys on the other team, on both ends.”
Former NBA assistant Tim Grgurich is credited for changing all this. While on George Karl’s staff with the Seattle SuperSonics in the early 1990s, Grgurich turned free-shooting pregame sessions into developmental work. At first, teams split players into guards and bigs, but as staff sizes grew, they began assigning assistants to work out players individually. The time was too valuable to waste, especially with so many younger players entering the league.
“In college, you have time to prepare,” said Randy Ayers, a former NBA and college coach. “Once you get into conference play, you’re only playing two games a week. In the pros, you can play five games in seven days. The individual instruction is awfully important because you have to put some rest in there for these guys with the schedule that you have.”
In Phoenix, the team’s veteran players decide the order in which players work (players mostly work two at a time, and the rookies go first). Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro take the court before fans are even allowed inside the arena. Routine specifics are usually discussed before the season and adjusted as the season unfolds. Sometimes, they have to be worked out on the fly.
Before a recent game, Phoenix assistant Brent Barry worked with guard Vasilije Micic, who had just come to Phoenix in a deadline trade with the Charlotte Hornets.
“Three makes from the corner,” Barry instructed on the court at Footprint Center. He fired chest passes to Micic, hitting him in the shooting pocket. Swish, swish, miss, swish.
“Now, Vasa,” Barry said. “From the crease, shuffle down. Three makes.”
Some players wear headphones or earbuds. Booker does (he walks around the locker room with them). His teammates Bradley Beal and Royce O’Neale do as well.
During a recent trip to Phoenix, Charlotte guard LaMelo Ball wore headphones while stretching but removed them once he started shooting.
Durant has worn headphones in the past but doesn’t anymore.
“I guess I just kind of like to feel the arena a little bit,” he said. “Get immersed in the atmosphere.”
Durant starts on the left baseline with short jumpers. Seven in a row. He steps back for corner 3s. He moves into the post. Bursts into the lane. Turns and fades.
Durant works with assistant coach David Fizdale, who also has coached LeBron James, Ray Allen and Dwyane Wade. “I try to basically set up a little dress rehearsal for what he’s going to face in the game as to how teams are going to guard him, based on his sweet spots, things that we run for him,” Fizdale said of Durant. “A dress rehearsal in a short amount of time. And to Kevin’s credit, the amount of energy he puts into his pregame is unique.”
Durant credits Washington Wizards coach Brian Keefe for showing him how to work. They were together for Durant’s first seven seasons, starting in Seattle and continuing in Oklahoma City. Before a recent game in Phoenix, Keefe downplayed his role, saying he learned more from Durant than Durant learned from him.
“It’s a singular focus, it’s a dedication to the craft, a love of the game,” Keefe said. “Players don’t get enough credit. An 82-game schedule, pressure to play, pressure to perform, and the ones who do this are the ones who put the work in.”
From the lane, Durant moves to the left wing and fires midrange jumpers. He shifts back to the 3-point arc. The first three are catch and shoot. Then Durant shoots off the dribble. He pops out from the corner. Durant moves to the elbow. Then, near the key, where Fizdale instructs him to fake a pass to the corner and make a move to the basket.
Everything Durant does on the left side, he repeats on the right. On this night, it adds up to 120 shots from 18 spots. He steps to the foul line and shoots eight free throws, making six.
During a two-game stretch in late November, Durant made 11 of 16 from the foul line. At his next pregame workout, Durant, an 88% foul shooter, was determined to make 10 in a row to get back in rhythm. He swished nine straight. The 10th rimmed out. Durant turned in frustration. He lifted his black T-shirt, wiped his face and returned to the line. He made four and missed the fifth. Not good enough. On the third try, he made 10 in a row.
Durant finishes each session with a dunk. He slaps five with the assistants and managers and retreats to the locker room. Fizdale says pregame development time is vital for young players, but it also can help veterans like Durant. “At 36 years old, he’s still getting better, as crazy as that sounds,” Fizdale said.
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