Basketball players do yoga, too! Have you been following the NBA Finals, Miami Heat versus San Antonio Spurs? Admittedly we’re not diehard sports fans, but there’s something about the championships that have us peeking over our b-ball loving friends’ shoulders to sneak a glimpse of what all the fuss is about. Also, we want to see how those basketball playing yogis use their practice on the courts!
Tomorrow is the final game between the Heat and the Spurs. Who will win? We don’t know! But what we do know is how they stack up on the yoga mat.
Miami Heat:
Star players LeBron “Lebrogi” James and Dwyane Wade have been practicing yoga for years.
Dwyane in dunkasana
Wade admits, “Yoga is a totally different way of stretching and really challenging,” and confessed to the Wall Street Journal that his toughest pose is Tree.
LeBrogi explains:
“Yoga isn’t just about the body, it’s also about the mind, and it’s a technique that has really helped me,” James said. “You do have to focus because there’s some positions that can really hurt you at times if you aren’t focused and breathing right.”
And, well, he has his own yoga mat.
San Antonio Spurs:
Spurs Tim Dunca, Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker meditate at the 2013 NBA finals with magic basketball.
Tim Duncan is rumored to practice yoga in the offseason.
And, of course, there’s this zany yoga commercial for H-E-B, a supermarket chain in the south, featuring Manu Ginobli, Tim Duncan and since retired player Bruce Bowen. We’re not sure it indicates anything more than a sense of humor, but we’ll take it.
However, Bowen, who retired in 2009, was/is actually a super yogi and may have influenced his former teammates.
He was quoted in 2007 as saying, “When I am consistent with the yoga exercises, I think I am at least 40% more flexible,” he told Men’s Fitness. “Sometimes during last season on total off days, I would go to a class, and it always helped. But off days during the season only come about once every nine or 10 days.”
His #12 Spurs jersey was retired last year. Could he have left a yoga legacy as well? Tony Parker, get on that, buddy.
Last, but not least…
Naturally, both teams have yoga pants, because you can get practically anything printed on yoga pants these days:
But will this description for the “De-stressed” Miami Heat yoga pants sway the odds? There’s a rhinestone accented Heat logo that says so!
A game can get you pretty riled up. When the on-court action gets intense, your heart feels like it could jump out of your chest and your skin feels like it’s on fire. Take a deep breath, relax and remember: it’s just a game.
…Plus, the distressed, rhinestone-accented Heat logo and location name printed on the left hip and metallic team name printed at the back of the roll-down waist will add a lovely touch of Miami pride to your lax look. Don’t let your worry get the best of you — we all know Miami’s gonna come out on top anyway!
Mmhm. We shall see. Good luck to both teams!
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Earlier…
- NBA Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Announces He Has Cancer, Stays Positive With Yoga
- LeBron James: Basketball’s Yoga LeBrogi FTW!
- NBA All-Star Kevin Garnett Centers Intense Energy With Yoga
- Statistics Show NBA Players Love Yoga, Opponents Maintain ‘That Shit is Hard’
- Dwyane Wade Ups His Game with Yoga, Shares His Least Favorite Pose
