Hoops Nation

Since having ankle surgery in April, NBA star Stephen Curry has spent considerable time working on his game and body.

His muscular arms and back are evidence of how much he has worked. He doesn’t much resemble the skinny kid who thrilled fans at Charlotte Christian and Davidson.

Still months away from the start of NBA training camp in October, Curry, the Golden State Warriors’ starting point guard, spends many mornings at Accelerate Basketball, a training facility for youth, college and professional athletes.

Trainer Brandon Payne walks around with a three-page training plan he prepares for Curry and other pros, who include the Atlanta Hawks’ Anthony Morrow, a former Charlotte Latin star, and former Providence High star Antawn Jamison, the former North Carolina All-American, who is an NBA free agent.

Curry dribbles a 6-pound leather basketball with one hand while making left-handed, behind-the-back passes with a regulation ball to trainer Blake Boehringer. Next, he’s dribbling a heavy ball with his right hand and tossing a tennis ball with his left to Boehringer.

Later, he does a complex drill of dribbling a heavy ball while touching a series of lighted wall fixtures that glow in a pattern.

“It’s crazy stuff, but it helps a lot keeping my body in shape and keep my fundamentals and motor skills at a high level when it comes to basketball, without a lot of stress on my ankle,” Curry said. “It’s very different, some of the ways they stay above the curve with the different technologies they’ve found.”

(Via Charlotte Observer / Langston Wertz Jr.)