The Basketball Strong Podcast

Growing up in Flagstaff, Arizona, Paul Fabritiz followed the example of his older volleyball-playing sister to increase his vertical jump. He also worked on his shooting and skills and became a college-level player. But every season, he seemed to suffer a major injury to his hands, wrists, or feet, and after playing at Mesa Community College and Northern Arizona University, Paul decided to focus h...

Since starring for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, Marcus Smart has made a name for himself as a rugged defender capable of guarding all five positions, a capable ball handler, and a reliable shooter. During the Boston Celtics’ sweep of the New Jersey Nets, Smart showed his Defensive Player of the Year chops, shutting down Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving during key stretches. But in the first game again...

We’ve already seen multiple All-Stars and key role players go down in the NBA Playoffs. You might be wondering why seemingly indestructible athletes in their prime are getting hurt at this pivotal time in the pro basketball calendar, whether injury rates are higher now than back in the day, and what can be done to minimize the chances of getting hurt. In which case, you’ll enjoy this episode, as f...

The NBA playoffs are in full swing, but unfortunately for several teams, their chances of progressing have taken a hit. In this injury roundup, former Lakers S&C coach Tim DiFrancesco (TD)  zeroes in on Devin Booker’s hamstring strain, Fred VanVleet’s hip flexor strain, Joel Embiid’s thumb ligament tear, and Khris Middleton’s MCL sprain.  Listen as TD shares:  How Embiid’s UCL tear might affec...

A lot of basketball legends are either great players or coaches. But Byron Scott is one of the few who can legitimately claim to be both (though he’s too humble to say so). As a member of the Los Angeles Lakers’ Showtime dynasty, Byron won three NBA championships. He also lost a few bitterly contested Finals showdowns with the Lakers’ arch-nemesis: the Boston Celtics.  Once he moved from the hardw...

In Part 1, Dan Grunfeld (Ep. 17) talks about his experience training with Crazy Frank while playing at Stanford.  In this episode, Dan shares: How Frank had him sprinting up sand hills + carrying buckets of sand How the physical training was extreme but how Frank always knew when to pull you back How Dan took Frank’s mantra “your mind will always give out before your body” to heart What it means t...

Few families can boast of one person competing in the NBA Dunk Contest, but the Nances have two: Larry Nance Sr beat Dr. J in 1984, and his son, Larry Nance Jr finished second in 2018. The latter currently plies his basketball trade for the New Orleans Pelicans after they acquired him from the Portland Trailblazers just before the trade deadline in February 2022. Beforehand, the Cavs had inked Lar...

In the past few weeks, the Boston Celtics have soared up the Eastern Conference rankings, securing the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. But their championship dreams are limited by whether versatile big man Robert Williams III comes back from a partially torn meniscus. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls announced that guard Lonzo Ball had been ruled out for the rest of the season after a...

The Dallas Mavericks’ All-Star Luka Doncic was putting up MVP-like numbers in the final few weeks of the regular season. But then in the final game against the San Antonio Spurs, he went down with what has been confirmed to be a calf strain. Now the Mavs face a worrying wait ahead of their first-round matchup in the Western Conference playoffs against Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and the Utah Jaz...

A lot of shoe reviewers (aka shoetubers) these days get free pairs of all the latest kicks. But growing up in the Bay Area, Chris Chase was mocked on the blacktop for having $40 Payless shoes. This hurt but paled in comparison to the other challenges Chris faced daily in a single-parent home where times were tough, dinner was often pasta and ketchup, and substance abuse sometimes forced him to liv...

Basketball Strong Podcast co-host Tim DiFrancesco (TD) started his pro basketball career with the Bakersfield Jam in the NBA D-League. He was then recruited to become the strength and conditioning coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, where he spent six seasons, including Kobe Bryant’s final four years in the league.  Even when the ink is dry on someone’s new contract, they don’t become a true part of...

LeBron James is having yet another stellar season for the Lakers, leading the NBA in scoring at 30.3 points per game, along with 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists. But after missing time with knee and abdominal issues earlier in the year, he is now out with an ankle sprain. A star in the making at the other end of his career, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ sensational Evan Mobley is a frontrunner for Rookie...

A lot of basketball legends are either great players or coaches. But Byron Scott is one of the few who can legitimately claim to be both (though he’s too humble to say so). As a member of the Los Angeles Lakers’ Showtime dynasty, Byron won three NBA championships. He also lost a few bitterly contested Finals showdowns with the Lakers’ arch-nemesis: the Boston Celtics.  Once he moved from the hardw...

Since he first burst onto the basketball scene via jaw-dropping YouTube highlight reels as a teenager, the hoops world has been captivated by Zion’s hops, power, and charisma. When he was recruited by Coach K for a one-and-done season at Duke, everyone realized that the hype was real and Zion was destined for superstardom on the hardwood. This was confirmed when the New Orleans Pelicans selected t...

When the Villanova Wildcats square off against the Kansas Jayhawks in the 2022 Final Four in front of thousands of fans in the stands and millions watching on TV, all eyes will be on star players Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore and head coach Jay Wright. Yet behind the scenes, there’s a world-class group of professionals getting the players ready to give their best as they chase a national champ...

When Dan Grunfeld’s grandmother was a teenager, “Life was nothing more than a loving family, a tall tree, and an endless supply of sweet, juicy cherries.” But in an instant, the Nazis overran Europe and murdered her parents and five siblings in the Holocaust. Somehow Anyu and a sister survived the liquidation of the Budapest ghetto and after she married another Holocaust survivor, they escaped the...

After struggling with an abdominal injury since before he helped Team USA win gold at the Tokyo Olympics, Damian Lillard had season-ending surgery. LeBron James has missed multiple games with an ab strain this season, and other players have battled sports hernias. We all know that you need a strong core in basketball to transfer power from your lower body and preserve stability during contact, but...

Drew Hanlen is a basketball skills coach and consultant who counts NBA stars Joel Embiid, Bradley Beal, Jayson Tatum, Zach LaVine, Kelly Oubre Jr, Jordan Clarkson, RJ Barrett & more as full-time clients. He also trains and consults with multiple NBA elite collegiate basketball players, and conducts team workouts and clinics all over the world as CEO of Pure Sweat Basketball. His goal is to hel...

When the Brooklyn Nets traded for Ben Simmons, many fans expected to see the big, All-Defense Australian guard on the court right away, as Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and co made their final push toward the playoffs. But it soon became apparent that because of his lengthy spell on the sidelines, Simmons wasn’t ready for NBA primetime.  In this episode, co-host Tim DiFrancesco (TD)  uses the experie...

On April 26, 2021, Jonathan Tjarks tweeted: “There's no easy way to say this. I've been diagnosed with cancer. The doctors aren't entirely sure what kind it is, but they think it is one of two kinds of sarcomas. I've already begun chemotherapy. Please keep me, my wife, and our one-year-old son in your prayers.” He then wrote an article for The Ringer titled “The Long Night of t...

18-time NBA All-Star. Five-time NBA champion. 2-time Finals MVP. Kobe Bryant’s legacy as the greatest player since Michael Jordan is unparalleled. Most of what has been said about Kobe has been through third parties, but Basketball Strong Podcast co-host Tim DiFrancesco had the blessing of coaching Kobe up close over four years with the Lakers. In this episode, Tim and co-host Phil White discuss e...

By the end of his senior year, Osheray “O” Streeter was considered the best pure point guard in Alaska. But his ascendancy didn’t come easy. O was raised by his single mother in one of the roughest parts of Fairbanks and didn’t get to know his father until years later. Through the mentorship of a neighbor who he considers to be his big sister and a caring yet combative coach, O pushed himself to e...

There’s no doubt that Olympic lifting can help athletes build strength, speed, and power. But having successfully prepared players at every level from prep school to the pros, former Lakers S&C coach, TD Athletes Edge founder, and Basketball Strong Podcast co-host Dr. Tim DiFrancesco has seen that the risks often outweigh the rewards.  Because of their long spines, legs, and arms, basketball p...

Many fans refer to Gary Vitti as a Lakers legend. He doesn't describe himself that way - but it is well known that he has worked with many legends over his 32-year NBA career. During his tenure as Head Athletic Trainer, the team won 12 Western Conference Championships and eight NBA Championships. When he started in 1984, he was a one-man show, the first person at practice and games and the la...

While in his senior year at Lower Merion High School, Kobe Bryant and a friend decided that when he made it to the NBA, his journey would make a great book. So they sat down and recorded hours of audio interviews about Kobe continuing the legacy of his father Joe “Jelly Bean” Bryant, the time he spent in Italy, his mom’s role in creating the Mamba Mentality, and more. Time passed and while Kobe wo...