Image via Complex Original
Brandon Jennings knew at an early age that he could compete on the basketball court. A McDonalds All-American, he won major awards as a senior at Oak Hill Academy, one of the premier high school basketball programs in the country, averaging 32.7 points and 7.4 assists per game. As the NBA requires all players to be one year removed from high school for draft eligibility, Jennings skipped college ball to go play overseas and was drafted 10th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks the following year.
In 2015 Brandon Jennings played the best basketball of his career, which is pretty incredible given his body of work. January of that year he dropped a season-high 37 points, and then five days later recorded a 24 point, 21 assist game becoming the first person to record a 20/20 game since Steve Nash did it in 2009. Then, three days later Jennings ruptured his Achilles.
Speaking exclusively with Jeff Schwartz, founder and president of Excel Sports Management and Jennings’ agent, I was able to gain insight into the rehab process that Jennings has gone through. Between countless hours in the gym and on the court, Jennings did what he had to do to prepare himself to come back stronger, faster, and quicker than ever. Here are the training tips Brandon Jennings picked up rehabbing from surgery:
Mental Focus
A silver lining of Jennings’ injury recovery was the fact that he was playing for the Detroit Pistons at the time. Arnie Kander was the Piston’s strength coach, a 22-year-old vet who had been with the team since the position was created. Kander would be the mastermind behind Jennings’ recovery process.
Dealing with a significant injury such as a torn Achilles can be tough on basketball players, especially point guards whose games rely so much on lateral movement. Schwartz believes there are two especially difficult periods during the rehab process. The first is the initial injury when players must cope with heavy pain for two weeks. The second window is weeks 4–8 when they must internalize and accept that they are not capable of playing basketball at a high level for the next 9–12 months. “That can be hard for some players, especially a guy like Brandon who is a strong competitor, a student of the game, and just loves to play basketball,” Schwartz says. “He really approached it one day at a time, focusing on the progress he was making. He viewed it as a temporary situation and committed himself to getting back on the court as quickly and safely as possible.”
Strength Training
A big factor that will help Jennings throughout the recovery process is the fact that he’s fairly light. Fluctuating around 185 pounds, it was important for him to put on some muscle to help him physically withstand the inevitable contact when driving to the basket. One workout in particular that Jennings did often was squats. It helped strengthen his Achilles, and the versatility of the exercise helped build muscle in other parts of the body as well. One favorite variation was One Leg Bulgarian Kettle Bell Squats. Standing on one leg with the other on top of a flat bench, Jennings would hold kettle bells and squat down until his knee was parallel with the bench. Compound exercises like One Leg Bulgarian Kettle Bell Squats that work the legs, core, and arms all at the same time are especially helpful for injury recovery.
Pool Training
For someone rehabbing an ankle or an Achilles, the pool can be one of the best ways to help improve flexibility. Whether stretching or walking, doing a routine underwater allows people to move their joints through a wider range of motion and with greater control compared to doing those same exercises on land. The buoyancy of the water supports the body weight and creates a low impact platform to test and strengthen the Achilles. That low impact is important because it decreases the chance of Jennings re-injuring his Achilles during rehab. Pool training is also necessary because the water’s resistance increases the efficiency of the workout and the temperature of the pool can be controlled to help blood circulation around the injury.
Conditioning
Conditioning was always going to be one of the most important aspects of Jennings’ rehab. Once cleared for basketball activities, it was up to him to put his whole game back together. Jennings is now stronger and faster and is expecting this to translate into success on the basketball court. One drill that helped Jennings get back into playing shape was a mix of dribbling and hand-eye coordination. While dribbling a basketball walking backward, he would have his trainer toss him tennis balls at the same time. That sort of concentration is critical because on the court you don’t have time to think; elite players must rely on instinct. If you hesitate, Steph Curry has already stolen the ball and drained another 3-pointer.
Don’t Rush It
It’s one thing to work out and stay mentally prepared, but it’s another to be able to play 48 minutes of high-level NBA basketball. Jennings was smart and spent some time talking to Kobe Bryant, who rehabbed the same injury back in 2013. The biggest piece of advice that Kobe gave him was to only come back when he was 100 percent ready. Jennings heeded that advice, and instead of rushing back to help the Pistons fight for a playoff spot, he voluntarily opted to play in the D-League to test out his Achilles. It only took the Pistons one game to realize Jennings was ready to return, and even after he was cleared to play, he only cracked 20 minutes a couple of times before being traded to Orlando. A few months back Jennings was quoted saying to Freep, "I couldn't do anything about it. I was hurt. The main thing is, to me, is to just get back healthy… I have to make sure I'm 100 percent healthy for next year." Thankfully, he was only 25 at the time of the injury and still has a long career ahead of him.
For more on athlete’s training regimes head over to our in-depth story on the demanding lifestyle of Olympic athlete Michael Phelps.