The Anatomy of an NBA Diet: From Junk Food to Plant-Based

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The diet that comes with being an NBA superstar can vary pretty drastically. With current stars like LeBron James investing millions of dollars into his body and diet each year, and former stars like Shaq eating pretty much whatever you wanted, this is what NBA players actually eat. With Derek Rose having to transition from candy in college to gourmet meals in the NBA, he hired a personal chef in order to keep his diet right. While playing for the University of Memphis, Rose was known to have a sweet tooth. The talented point guard would eat gummy bears and candies in excess, although no one knew how bad it actually got. That was until he missed a media appearance, not due to a college hangover, but rather a stomach ache from eating too many sweets. His then teammate Chris Douglas Roberts talked about how bad it was, saying, He eats gummy bears and starbursts for breakfast, Twizzlers and honey buns for dinner. That's why his stomach hurts. We tell Derek the whole year, stop eating so many gummy bears and sour straws. But he can't. Nobody eats more gummy bears than him. But thanks to a personal chef that he hired in 2010, the sweets have been replaced with fruit, granola, water and protein shakes. Although he still admits to indulging himself with sweets, it's not nearly as bad as he once was in college. I'm done with it, but I know when to eat it. For breakfast, he's having five strips of turkey bacon, three scrambled eggs, and six cantaloupe slides. For lunch, he'll have two or three turkey meatballs, some spaghetti, and two brown bread slices. For dinner, he'll have a chicken Caesar salad or a lean beef burger. Instead of candies for dessert, he now settles for a Myoplex protein bar. With a listed height of 7'1, and weighing at 300 plus pounds, Shaquille O'Neal needed quite a bit of food during his NBA career to keep him fueled. Starting out with the magic after the 1992 NBA draft, Shaq almost looked too thin. The then 20-year-old Shaq weighed less than 290 pounds. By the time he joined up with the Lakers in 1996, it was clear Shaq was putting on weight. Fast forward to his first championship with the Lakers during the 1999-2000 season, Shaq weighed in at 341 pounds, and this was all intentional. Shaq had hired a personal chef during those years who cooked him unholy amounts of meat and potatoes. As Shaq's eyes, size and mass equated to power in the post. If he wanted to dominate down there, he'd need to tack on even more weight. His 2003-2004 season with the Lakers is probably his most oppressive, and at the time, he had gained an additional 30 pounds. He's not close to a sumo wrestler weight at 371 pounds. Most people at that size would have been prone to injuries, but not Shaq. Despite being the heaviest player in the league that season, his averages remained dominant. 22 points per game, 12 rebounds per game, and 2 blocks. What's even more impressive was his pre- and post-game meals, which according to Shaq, included Mountain Dew and Red Bull. Before the game, I always had to have a turkey club sandwich with extra mayo and 2 pineapple sodas. After the game, win or lose, I had a chicken sandwich and macaroni. His goal in gaining weight during his career was a success, but now without consequence, even though he played 19 seasons in the league, it's likely if he didn't stack out so much weight, he would have remained a dominant presence during his final seasons, as opposed to being the injury ridden old man that we remember him as in the Celtics. Weighing in at 324 pounds, Shaq at 47 years old has finally found a good healthy weight. He's a lot more disciplined in his diet and workout regimen, although he still admits to being a sandwich guy. Things have changed a little bit since I stopped playing. This summer, I took 2 months off from keeping to a diet, but I'm not really a bad eater anyways. By definition of eating bad is too many sandwiches. I'm a sandwich guy. Turkey sandwiches, turkey burgers, but a turkey sandwich is just low fat mayo from Whole Foods, and a thin wheat bread, a couple slices of turkey, a couple slices of cheese, lettuce, and a tomato. That's it. So lunch is a sandwich. Dinner is either salmon, chicken, or steak. But actually, October is the month where I really start getting into it with the diet stuff. This month, no bread, only salmon and chicken, and a lot of salad. I'm getting back on TV soon, so I drink a lot of water, get all healthy. Amari Stoudemire was never looked at as out of shape or overweight, but with that, he should have been able to run the length of the floor quicker than other big men, but he couldn't. Not many would guess that a 6 foot 11, 245 pound professional athlete could sustain himself on a vegan diet. However, Amari Stoudemire has figured out the perfect diet to keep him in shape and lower his chances for injuries on the court. The motivation to clean up his diet came during the preseason in 2013 when he injured his left knee. Prior to the season and injury, Amari's favorite pregame meals were buttermilk fried chicken and sweet potato waffles. Now he's completely changed the way he eats after switching to a full on vegan diet that he'd been consistent with during the 2013-2014 season with the Knicks. Amari being worth millions of dollars, of course recruited the help of a personal chef to cook him the meals that would help him on his performance. Amari's chef said, When I started working with Amari, he was so used to burgers and french fries, picking up something to go after a game, I'd have to hide healthy ingredients in his food, sneak in chia peas into his potatoes or beets into his smoothies, but he's really embraced the lifestyle. His willpower to be the best is so high. Swapping out the burger and fries, Amari now eats vegan chili, asparagus, and Brussels sprouts, foods that he claims are responsible for his quick recovery from injuries. It fortifies the blood, it helped me recover and persevere through injuries. I did that for three months. I really wanted to give myself the best opportunity to remain healthy. During the 2013-2014 season, Carmelo Anthony was an estimated 235 pounds, and with a height of 6'8, it wasn't all too bad. However, if you were around to see Mello play during those years, it was obvious that he was a little overweight. That's no longer the case. After the summer of 2014, he decided to cut out all carbs from his diet, a diet change that caused him to lose 30-40 pounds. It wasn't more about my diet, it was more about the training that I was doing and really pushing myself to that limit. I haven't felt like this in a long, long time, maybe since I first came into the league. Melo was partially influenced by LeBron's diet, which had taken place right around the same time. I applaud LeBron for doing what he's doing. A diet that he went on, I don't think I could do it. Just to be honest with you, that's a hard diet. It takes a lot of focus. The sudden weight change placed him on a lean 6.8% body fat, and he claims that it's the reason why his averages and rebounding went up the following season. During the 2014-2015 season with the Knicks, Melo was averaging 27 points per game, three assists per game, and eight rebounds. That same season, Melo decided to go on a 21-day biblical fast, as mentioned in the Book of Daniel. Melo's decision to do this mid-season caused a lot of panic amongst fans initially, but he was averaging 32 points per game during the long stretch without food. So an argument can be made that it helped his game. After gaming against the New Orleans Hornets, Melo stated that he'd been ending his fast. I haven't had a good meal in about two and a half weeks. No meat, no carbs, anything like that. So I don't know how I was out there competing at a high level. It's been some games the past week where your body just feels depleted out there. You're trying to find ways to get some energy, but I surrender. I'm done. I'm gonna go get some food right now. I'm gonna get me the biggest steak I can possibly get. But Kawhi learned in the meeting that he never falls into the fast food trap. He said he always goes to family restaurants in order to eat fresh meals. Kawhi's always been known to generally fast through breakfast, mainly because he doesn't have time to eat it. When he does, he'll get an egg white omelet with some bell peppers and mushrooms accompanied with some fruit. The Spurs organization had a nutritionist travel with his players everywhere they go, a major resource that Kawhi took advantage of when he needs advice on food from the countless hotels the team stays at. As a general rule of thumb, Kawhi tends to steer clear of any beef and pork while gravitating towards grilled chicken or fish with vegetables. Looking back on his days in college, Kawhi talked about the difference in nutritional resources in an interview with GQ saying, You know, there's definitely a big difference from college into the league. Being in college, you don't have the money to even get organic foods, or to only eat organic vegetables and organic drinks. You really just go with whatever you have in front of you. And the college I was at, we were at a mid-major, so we didn't really have all the perks and stuff like that other teams might have. We ended up eating a lot of fast food. Obviously, the NBA is different. It's a professional job. They want you to play at your highest level. So I learned a ton being with the Spurs about basic nutrition. Now, granted, Kawhi also mentioned the fact that during his rookie year at the Spurs, his mother moved to San Antonio so she could cook for him. Not even the most expensive personal chefs hired by NBA players can replicate a home-cooked meal. His interest in eating healthy began before he was drafted, but it wouldn't be until after he was drafted by the Spurs that he started eating well. Before games, Kawhi doesn't like to eat, but if he does, it'll be a protein bar at most. He doesn't like to play on a full stomach. He even has a preferred water that he drinks, claiming that low pH water is not good for you. For Kawhi, alkaline water with a high pH content is what he drinks to keep healthy. Many people believe that Michael Jordan was a superstar based off of God-given talent, but even Jordan himself claimed that his diet helped him rise to the top. Michael Jordan's diet routine is a testament of how hard the legend trained. Unlike most NBA players and athletes, Jordan put an emphasis on carbs when eating. In fact, 70% of the food that he ate consisted of carbs, with the other 30% of his food being made up of 20% fats and only 10% protein. Jordan's goal in his diet was to feel high energy without feeling too full for the game. And for as hard as Jordan was working out in practice, it only makes sense that it took five or six meals a day to keep him going. His trainer Tim Grover talked about how he crammed those meals in, saying, when people hear five or six meals a day, the first reaction is usually, how will I find the time? We developed a routine with shakes that allows Michael to eat his nutrients before or after practice or even on the golf course. You don't necessarily have to eat five meals a day as much as replenish your body five times a day. His team of nutritionists made sure that the food that he ate promoted healthy blood sugar levels, boosted his metabolism, and didn't cost too much on weight gain. For breakfast, Jordan ate oatmeal and a fruit with egg whites. For lunch, he had a lean protein such as chicken with a healthy carb, such as a whole grain pasta and a salad. In between meals, Jordan typically consumed shakes made with sport drinks, protein powder, and fresh fruit. And to help him live with a 24-7 diet, his team allowed him to have a cheat meal for dinner. Not surprisingly, Jordan's discipline on the court was easily transferable into his diet, making his trainer's job a lot easier. The nutritionist said, I don't monitor Michael's nutrition plan anywhere near as much as the younger players I consult. He's learned more each year what works for him, what gives him the most energy and stamina. Jordan is stricter about his meals during the season, but it's not like I worry about Michael eating junk food during the offseason. I actually worry about him not eating. He tends to lose weight quickly. He has a high rate of metabolism. It's because of Jordan's ridiculously fast metabolism that his trainer has him down 5 or 6 meals a day to control his blood sugar level and his insulin level. If Jordan were to just pig out during breakfast and spend the rest of the day without much else, it would affect his mood and his activity level. Price too high to pay when the future of the Chicago Bulls is weighing down on the player's ability to perform. As likely a result of that same dedication to his diet, that allowed the greatest player of all time to win 6 championships over the course of a 15-year career. With LeBron James spending over a million dollars a year on dieting and exercise, he takes his health seriously. And just like his play style throughout the season, LeBron's diet is constantly being tweaked to meet his changing needs. His most extreme diet took place during the offseason just after the 2013-2014 season, where the then LeBron-led team fell to the spurs. The near-championship made him want to take a different approach to his body's muscle mass. This time, he was going to cut weight. For 67 days during the offseason, LeBron had cut out entire food groups. Anything having sugar, carbs, or dairy was completely off the table. His diet made headlines. After LeBron posted pictures of himself during the summer, well, he looked to be almost unhealthy. At least in comparison to the 250-pound, 6-foot-8 player we were used to seeing. The diet was defined by professionals as the popular paleo diet, but taken to an extreme. It was not recommended for anyone. His trainer talked about the diet in retrospect, saying, as far as paleo goes, that was a one-time trial. It started off as sort of a challenge amongst his friends. I think Ray Allen, one of his teammates in Miami, was also doing it with him. It was a 30-day experiment, but he ended up doing it for two months because he was looking so lean. But about a month before the season started, we started eating regularly again, just clean eating all the time, with the occasional dessert and glass of wine. Walking away from the paleo diet, his trainer now states the most important thing about a season diet is giving his body the resources it loses when he trains hard. His trainer said, the key thing for him is balance. He eats about five times a day, a traditional breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and a couple of snacks in between those meals. For breakfast, he loves an egg white omelet with a couple pieces of French toast. We'll do turkey bacon or turkey sausage, some nice avocado on the side. If he doesn't have French toast, then just regular wheat toast. For a snack, the chef does a good job of dehydrating fruit, along with mixed nuts and a protein shake pre or post practice. Ayo, dog, we need to click on this video right now, or a meteor is gonna crash through your window and smash your phone. And when I say meteor, I mean a tiny little rock thrown by me.