Mo Bamba claims to have gained 28 (!) pounds since March

[RookieStar]

mother**** .... i forgot how fat he got. That's 300 pounds at least

His book-weight was 280 lbs., but most had him estimated at a whopping 320 !


..

His official weight is 230lbs on Basketball-Reference and and even with that "muscle gain" in Orlando, I wouldn't say he played bad for us, crazy.

I've seen him play n TV.. when he sweats I could've sworn it was cooking oil coming out of his skin with the fats around him.lol

[Bensational]

``I’ve worked my tail off during this quarantine,’’ Bamba told Magic season-ticketholders. ``I’ve taken this as an opportunity to really put on weight, really recover as far as getting rest and changing up my diet. I’ve been able to get a chef in and he drops off food occasionally. That’s probably the biggest thing that helped me put on a lot of weight.

``This is going to sound weird, but I put on probably about 28 pounds since quarantine (started),’’ Bamba said with a sheepish laugh. ``We did the whole body (composition) testing when we got back in (the Magic practice facility) and I’ve only added about 2.5 percent body fat. So, a lot of it is muscle and I can’t wait to get back out there and work.’’

He had bulked his arms up last summer. He might have just had the time and rest to put that back on.

Hopefully some or most is in his legs, as Swami said.

[Knightro]

I would actually rather see Bamba get heavier and stronger at the expense of some quickness.

Mo is going to have the ability to block and deter shots at the rim at his sheer length alone no matter what. He's blessed with super duper elite level arm length and wingspan and he understands shot blocking timing already.

In my eyes, him getting stronger will help him maintain his positioning much better and I think that is going to be more important to him long-term than speed or quickness.

I don't see Mo at that height ever really being quick enough to hold up 1 on 1 against guards in switches. So I'd rather go the opposite way and get him strong enough to not get pushed off his spots and rely on his length, anticipation and hopefully improved awareness over time to block shots.

[Last Guardian]

Not sure why some think this is difficult. If he's not doing cardio, and simply working out every day and eating a ton (and sleeping well for the people that know how important that is), then 28 pounds is easily doable. Of course it wouldn't be all muscle but whatever, C's need weight in general.

[basketballRob]

Well , there are differing ways to gain 28 pounds. For example:

Kemp gained all that during the strike shortened season. He was never the same.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

[MagicStarwipe]

Well , there are differing ways to gain 28 pounds. For example:

Kemp gained all that during the strike shortened season. He was never the same.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

I remember he also put on a bit of weight when he went to Cleveland. He said at the time it was so he could play in the more physical Eastern Conference. Seems like it was a slippery slope.

[drsd]

I remember he also put on a bit of weight when he went to Cleveland. He said at the time it was so he could play in the more physical Eastern Conference. Seems like it was a slippery slope.

Indeed!






But to be fair about the Cleveland weight gain, he was transitioning from PF to C at the end of his career, and this might have been strategic for playing in the block. S. O'Neal showed similar changes in body mass from young 20s to late 20s.

[p0peye]

This coming season is the season Bamba has to become capable of playing starting center for a winning team. Vučević will be 30 years old once season starts, so if Bamba ain't it, we need to find one.

[T-Cat]

This coming season is the season Bamba has to become capable of playing starting center for a winning team. Vučević will be 30 years old once season starts, so if Bamba ain't it, we need to find one.

Calm down dude!!

Bamba just turned 20 recently, he's gonna get better with more opportunities!

Aaron has been with Orlando since 2014 and he's still on the roster, not to mention Vucevic has been here since 2012.

Please be patient with Bamba, Fultz and Jonathan Isaac just as you were with AG, Fournier and Vucevic!

[Dubious Kitty]

Somehow this Kemp conversation reminded me of:

Big baby on the magic..good times

[KillMonger]

hope all that went to his legs....got to have a strong lower base in the nba if not? well in bamba's case you're going to get pushed out of the block by marcus smart....don't care how strong smart is....that...shouldn't....happen

[Skybox]

All the talk of muscle gain has to be tempered by not wanting to turn him into something he's not...We basically want two slightly stronger Isaacs with speed, mobility, agility, length and athleticism...He could easily gain 28 at his age and frame and then lose 18 of it in training camp. Age will be the number one thing that will fill out his frame...it just happens, especially when enhanced by training with experts and dietitians on call. Developing Barkley Ass is not going to happen on Mo's frame.

[zaymon]

All the talk of muscle gain has to be tempered by not wanting to turn him into something he's not...We basically want two slightly stronger Isaacs with speed, mobility, agility, length and athleticism...He could easily gain 28 at his age and frame and then lose 18 of it in training camp. Age will be the number one thing that will fill out his frame...it just happens, especially when enhanced by training with experts and dietitians on call. Developing Barkley Ass is not going to happen on Mo's frame.

if we are not the best defensive team by 2022 something went terribly wrong

[drsd]

Age will be the number one thing that will fill out his frame...it just happens, especially when enhanced by training with experts and dietitians on call.

If by "age" you mean strict diet (4000+ calories a day - to 8000) and 6 hours a day of weight training, then yes.


One can take these kids to power lifters by 5 years of "aging":

[drsd]

Look at the negative example: quote "he never filled out".

It's crap. Shawn Bradley went from toothpick to not-toothpick. (those legs in high school, eahh gads !)

[Skybox]

I'm not sure what you're questioning...by "aging", I mean getting older. When you combine the effects of your body maturing with the outside influences of training and nutrition, amazing things can happen at his age (for some older, some younger). There are plenty of young people that can eat a house and lift a house every day and not gain until their body's genetic programming is good and ready.

[pepe1991]

Noel never filled up.
WSC was drafted as future DPOY guy based on mobility and ability to defend after switches.

Once he gained weight and "filled" his frame, his mobility was lost and he was nothing more but average player.

You just have to find sweet spot with weight where you are no longer being pushed around, yet you are not slow.

On one side, watching Bamba getting bulied by 6'3 Marcus Smart is depressing, but putting 280 pounds on him will make him Boban Marjanovic.

Muscles do mature with age, but in reality after 2-3 years of weight training, you start to hit your plateau of natural limitations.
Most people,however, have completely wrong picture in their mind of what's possible and what is not when it comes to gaining muscles. This is most obvious when it comes ot athletes as for most of them, their sports actually hinder their "appearance to look like athlete". If we don't talk about short -sequence sprints and sports based on explossivness it's common for basketball,tennis or soccer (or any other endurance based sport ) players to appear :
a) super skinny
b) average Joes
c) off season chubby

Guys like DIrk, Duncan, KG , Pau dominated , non of them looked like Dwight nor Ben Wallace....
IF you look at training Lebron does , and you try to do it, you will look like sh**. Mostly because you don't have his genetics, and if he does some muscle -gaining training, he would look like Superman.

[drsd]

Guys like DIrk, Duncan, KG , Pau dominated , non of them looked like Dwight nor Ben Wallace....
IF you look at training Lebron does , and you try to do it, you will look like sh**. Mostly because you don't have his genetics, and if he does some muscle -gaining training, he would look like Superman.

And-1

I recall editorials that Bird had "soft-muscle", whatever that is. What it isn't is tone and definition, or mass or any really strength.

[Skin]

Great news! If he could turn into a physical force in the paint and stretch the floor, then he could be a modern superstar center.

[JF5]

... Fat...