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The competition in the NBA is so fierce and tough that more often than not, skills and athleticism may not be enough. Players have to be in a supremely fit condition to have an established role in the team.
Some of the league’s best talents were not able to fully maximize their careers due to their inability to consistently stay in shape. Often, fans end up wondering what could have been had these hoopers only worked harder than they did.
Top 15 NBA players who struggled with weight during their playing days
#15 Dexter Pittman
Dexter Pittman was listed as 6-9, 290 pounds in his final year with the Texas Longhorns. He reportedly had to lose close to 90 more pounds to play in the NBA.
Pittman, whose NBA draft report showed 308 pounds, was picked 32nd by the Miami Heat. He played just two games in his rookie year and a total of 50 in his career.
The former Longhorn won a title with LeBron James in 2012 when he played 35 games. His continued struggle with weight cut his career short.
#14 Oliver Miller
Oliver Miller started his career in the NBA weighing 313 pounds. He was a big part of the Phoenix Suns team that reached the 1993 finals behind Charles Barkley. By his sixth season in the league, he was nearly 350 pounds and struggled.
Miller left the NBA in 2000 to play overseas. He returned for the 2003-04 season with the Minnesota Timberwolves before retiring.
#13 Glen Davis
Glen Davis arrived in Boston just after the Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. He became an instant fan favorite because of his contagious energy and hustle.
Celtics fans also couldn’t help but troll him for being obviously overweight. Davis was listed as 6-9, 290 pounds, but analysts and fans could see he must have somewhere around 300 pounds.
After his stint with the Celtics, he went to Orlando and then to Los Angeles with the Clippers before retiring in 2015.
#12 Antoine Walker
Antoine Walker was once one of the best and most versatile forwards in the NBA in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. He played seven seasons for the Boston Celtics before he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks.
Walker bounced around from Atlanta and then back to Boston. It was with the Miami Heat that he started to gain weight. He still played 82 games in 2006 when the Heat won the championship behind Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal.
“Toine’s” play, though, started to decline as his weight started to go up.
#11 Sean May
Sean May was supposed to bring his superb game from North Carolina to the NBA. The Charlotte Bobcats picked him 13th overall in 2005.
May was a bust as he couldn’t keep his weight down. He entered the league at 266 pounds but played nearly at 300 pounds. May spent five seasons in the league but played only 119 games.
#10 Zach Randolph
Zach Randolph struggled to control his weight early in his career in the NBA. He wasn’t the most athletic but he was talented and skilled.
Unlike the aforementioned names, Randolph never gave up. He eventually became a two-time All-Star and one of the leaders of the Grit-and-Grind Memphis Grizzlies.
#9 Derrick Coleman
Derrick Coleman was the No. 1 pick of the 1990 draft and won Rookie of the Year honors for the then-New Jersey Nets. “DC,” though, couldn't reach his full potential as he couldn’t always consistently stay in shape.
Coleman was selected to the All-Star team once but could have been a better player if he had the discipline to keep his weight down.
#8 Baron Davis
Baron Davis was the 1999 draft. “BD” became a favorite among Charlotte Hornets for his skills and high-flying acts despite being a stocky guard.
Davis took his talents to Golden State and also became a darling of the crowd there. He was the leader of the eighth-seeded Dubs that upset the top-ranked Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 2007 playoffs.
Baron Davis’ had a hard time keeping his weight down after he signed with the LA Clippers. He was often out of shape and retired after 12 seasons in the NBA.
#7 Lamar Odom
After winning back-to-back championships with the LA Lakers in 2009 and 2010, Lamar Odom went to the Dallas Mavericks. Success may have gotten to him as he could barely keep his weight down.
Odom bounced back when he returned to the LA Clippers for the 2012-13 season, playing all 82 games. His skills have declined by then and was slowed down by the extra weight.
#6 Vin Baker
Vin Baker’s decline was just one of the saddest stories in NBA history. He was easily one of the best power forwards at the start of his career. Baker was named to the All-Star game for four straight seasons (1995-1998).
The lockout in 1999 turned him into a completely different player. Alcohol abuse caused his weight to balloon to 300 pounds. It was a struggle from thereon to stay on the floor as he was consistently out of shape.
#5 James Harden
James Harden’s numbers have been mind-boggling at times since he moved out of the shadows of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in 2012. “The Beard” turned into an offensive weapon that terrorized opponents.
Harden, though, has often been out of shape, particularly starting his last year with the Houston Rockets. The same issue has hounded him since then. In stops at Brooklyn and Philadelphia, fans and analysts have noted that he has slowed down.
The former MVP is 33 years old, but the lost explosiveness is not entirely due to age. He’s been somewhat of a shell of his shelf when he’s out of shape.
#4 Zion Williamson
Zion Williamson is considered by many to be a generational talent. Basketball fans haven’t seen anyone with his size, power and explosiveness.
“Zanos” also can’t seem to get healthy due to a myriad of injuries and battles with weight. The New Orleans Pelicans, the team that drafted him, gave him a massive extension but inserted a weight clause.
There is a real chance he couldn’t reach his potential if he keeps on getting injured and fails to keep the scales down.
#3 Eddy Curry
Zion Williamson might be in line to follow Eddy Curry’s infamous weight issues. Curry was repeatedly blasted by fans and analysts for his lack of effort to stay in shape.
The seven-foot center even refused to join training camp, only to rejoin the New York Knicks about 30 pounds over his playing weight.
Curry never reached his potential and eventually retired after the 2013 season.
#2 Shawn Kemp
Substance abuse and lack of discipline turned Shawn Kemp from one of the most explosive players in NBA history into a shell of himself. “The Reign Man” was one of the driving forces in the Seattle SuperSonics’ glory days in the ‘90s.
After six consecutive seasons of making the NBA All-Star team (1993-1998), Kemp’s battle with the scales went downhill. It became so bad that he would reportedly often fall asleep in practice and games.
Kemp was only 33 years old when he retired.
#1 Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille O’Neal is only concerned about being called the most dominant player in NBA history. He might have been a staple in GOAT conversations along with Michael Jordan and LeBron James had he been more disciplined with his weight.
Shaq had a Hall of Fame career and retired as one of the most accomplished players in league history. He sometimes played out of shape and still overwhelmed opponents.
Shaquille O’Neal was great, but the heights he could have reached in the NBA would have been staggering if he was always in shape.
