Photo Credit: Soobum Im/USA TODAY Sports

Boris Diaw’s ‘Almost Unbelievable’ Pre-Draft Workout Story

In 2018, 14-year NBA veteran, coffee lover, NBA Champion, and one of the NBA’s most entertaining men, Boris Diaw decided to end his professional basketball career after 1064 NBA games.

The man who had an espresso machine built into his locker in San Antonio, was truly one of a kind. Something you’re able to see when reading following words of former Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin (Griffin was a key member of the Suns’ front office), who told this incredible pre-draft workout story of Diaw.

It turns out that he, despite his physical appearance, was one of the NBA’s most athletic players:

“People don’t know how athletic he is. Boris walks into the gym one day wearing flip-flops and holding his customary cappuccino, which was a staple for him every morning. It was during pre-draft workouts, so he sees the Vertec [machine] and asks what it is. We tell him it measures your vertical leap by determining how many of the bars you can touch. He asks what’s the highest anyone has ever gone, and we tell him Amare’ [Stoudemire] cleared the entire rack. Boris puts down the cappuccino, takes off his flip-flops and clears the entire rack on the first try. Then he calmly puts his flip-flops back on, picks up his cappuccino and walks away, saying, ‘That was not difficult.”