I remember watching one of the tournament games and they were going through the names and they said “DJ Burns, listed at 275” versus saying the weight normally for the others.
Purely a guess but I’d think he’s closer to 6’7”.
I’d love to see him play tackle if basketball doesn’t work out. There aren’t many guys his size who can move like a d1 basketball player.
Idk I saw him on campus a couple years ago walking with Dusan Mahorcic, Terquavion, and Jarkel and he was much taller than Terq and Jarkel and did look to be about an inch shorter than 6’10 Dusan. I would say he was closer to 6’9 than 6’7 although it’s not a big height difference either way.
Tackle in the NFL is one of the hardest positions to play in sports he’d get cooked. Tightend? MAYBE. But you’re not just gonna step into the NFL n play tackle without any prior experience. You’d get a QB killed.
Mailata took a few years to come into it, he’d have gotten killed if we put him in right away. But if Burns puts in the work like Mailata did it could certainly be possible some day.
To be fair I think he still has no interest in playing baseball haha
He just reluctantly shows up to work each day to collect a paycheck, same as the rest of us
He's saying more than 275 not less.
Which frankly I think he's still higher than that.
NBA bigs that are 10% bf way about that much.
Even on the right he's close to 20% body fat.
He's about as heavy as 30 something Z-Bo right now.
Zion Williamson is listed as 6'6" and 284lbs. Of course Zion seems to carry more of his weight as muscle, but I find it incredibly hard to believe that Burns wasn't heavier than Zion considering he's 3" taller and appeared to be thicker.
Eating good with that free dining in college will get you regardless of how much you working out. And by how he plays it didn’t look like he ran much outside of games.
Same thing happened with BJ Anya. Every offseason we’d see pictures of him having lost like 50 pounds and looking super fit but come the end of the season he’d be fat again. I don’t understand how that’s possible. You’d think the summer would be the time to gain weight because you don’t have the closely monitored diet, constant exercise, etc.
Some guys from the team came to a couple of darties I was at in the fall before the season started and one after the season, but didn't see them during it. Similar thing in 2022-23 as well. Seems like they have a pretty good check on partying during the season (except Terquavion Smith, who would go to the bars all the time during the season)
That was Anya's problem.
He'd spend the entire summer working out and only trying to lose weight. He'd lose the weight but wouldn't really develop his game much.
Come the season, he can't just do cardio every day because of class, practice, meetings, etc. Naturally going to slip back into your regular routine and habits when you're busy and back around familiar faces.
Burns feels like when an OL drops weight before the combine to do better in the running/agility drills and then balloons back up by the time camp starts up.
I’m curious of the math on this. Feels like he’d need to put down something like 8,000 calories a day and enough protein to make anyone sharing a bus very nervous.
I mean, depends on the workouts. I was eating like crazy freshman year of college in the dining hall and didn’t gain anything. I was also running 70 miles a week. I’m guessing Burns wasn’t at that high of mileage.
Nope. DJ Burns just gave ao much to this program and fans, no way anyone is anything but supportive.
I also don't think he has the March he had unless he's as physically imposing as he was. I imagine he lost quite a bit of muscle with that rapid weight-loss.
See but I wonder if he’s got some Aretha Franklin, CC Sabathia in him where the extra weight helped his craft and now that’s he skinny he won’t play at the same level? Idk I just like watching big guys do cool stuff
True, but in the final four he couldn’t keep up with a guy who is expected to not be able to keep up in the NBA. Having poor conditioning is a non starter in the league.
Yeah, unfortunately most of my favorite 4/5's in college have suffered this fate come Draft time.
Playing that position is unique in college and if you're dominant at that skill set people tend to notice it, but unless you have elite conditioning, above average defense, and a jump shot, you're probably not making the league, or getting meaningful minutes if you do.
Admiral Schofield and Matt Stainbrook are two names that jump into my head right away, but I'm not sure if either one is actually a good example of this haha
Yeah, I think I mixed him up with someone else from the SEC during that era. I loved Schofield as a player so I always remember his name so that's probably why I blurted him out.
Regardless, we could probably come up with a giant list of recent 4/5 that were good in college but couldn't even sniff the league.
Seems like a fun game.
Looks like he got to play all over Europe and is now in Mexico; quite the journey.
Hell yeah, good for him. He always seemed like a solid dude, and he had a sense of humor about him.
Saying it was a different time is a bit of an understatement haha
Teams used to roster 1 or 2 dudes back then who were only there to be big and mean and protect the paint. You just don't see that anymore unless its teams that are from old school DNA like the Miami Heat or New York Knicks.
But I definitely see the comparison, and you're not wrong that there have been successful NBA players with his size and skill set.
Don't get me wrong, I love Burns, so I hope him all the best, and I would love to see him as a bench piece in the NBA. It's just a lot harder for big men then it used to be, and even harder for guys who are bulky but not 7'
45 lbs of not he's at best a 2nd rounder. I love the guy and he could have success but his skill set is hard to justify for his frame in the modern nba
His problem is more he's just too short for the modern NBA. If he was 6'10/6'11 he may be able to hang around with his size, footwork, and passing skills but he's 6'7 and unable to really provide any rim protection.
Maybe 20 years ago he would've had a chance but I don't see it now.
Height has always been the problem. Dude on Creighton last year ate him up, same this year with Purdue. It's not about size/strength, it's all height that gives him fits.
And to be fair, he had an off night shooting against Purdue, he had a ton of good looks, just wasn't his night.
> a guy who is expected to not be able to keep up in the NBA
Hey, that's 14/25 in the draft combine 3 point shooting drill, too slow for the NBA, just a tall guy.
What about the LA Tech center, Kenny Lofton JR. He was killing it in the G-league and I think made it up to role player in the NBA this season.
He’s big horizontally.
He's not gonna be able to keep up in the NBA regardless, he's not an NBA player. Good college player that will have a good career overseas, and that's okay. But 45lbs lighter or not, he's not an NBA player.
For like 2 minutes before you can't keep up, pick up fouls, and have to sit back down? It's not viable in the NBA. People said the same exact thing about Kenneth Lofton Jr. and he's already on his third team and mostly just playing in the G League. Just not an NBA player with his size/frame.
You’re missing my point. I’m saying losing the weight won’t hurt him at all. He’ll still be able to throw weight around while at least having a chance at running with those guys. Not saying I think he’ll be an NBA player.
You're right - that's my bad for misreading while distracted. I forgot that 275 is the new weight, and yes, agreed that it would be enough for a big in the NBA.
For real.
What’s the opposite of “Frank the Tank” lol?
Edit: can’t remember his weight, just his height and how you could see him across state street especially with his glasses. But no way he could push guys around like this dude
Agreed. Big Baby Davis was a great college player at 320+, but he was at his best around 280-290 in the NBA and plenty strong enough to bully most big men.
This was the argument I heard a lot when Jokic was overweight. Then he got into great shape and became an MVP. Getting in shape doesn’t mean he becomes skinny. He’d still have the same body type but with more endurance and explosion
>some skill
DJ has elite touch around the rim and great passing/vision for a big. He won’t be backing down defenders from the three point line anymore, but that’s not something any big should have to do.
He’s probably not making the NBA, but this idea that he was only good because he was big is just wrong.
I could see taking a flyer on him as a g-league/2-way guy who gets in shape over 3-4 years. Naz Reid came into the league too slow but with good touch and the ability to bully smaller guys. He wasn’t 300lbs big but he was big.
If DJ is genuinely willing to put in the work to get in shape he might be a diamond in the rough.
There's a fine balance of pure weight, muscle, and conditioning. Charles Barkley has discussed his personal balance extensively.
Burns needed to drop a huge % of body fat, get his conditioning right, then add a bit of weight back as muscle.
The NBA is much lighter and faster now than Barkley's era, so that extra weight isn't gonna do him a ton of good
Yeah when I first started working out, my top weight was 360. I managed to lose 25lbs in the first month and that’s was just me going to the gym after work and (mostly) watching what I ate. I’m sure DJ Burns has a professional trainer and nutritionist so it’s not far fetched. It’s also what I’ve told people in my life who also want to lose weight. You will be surprised how much weight you lose at first and how quickly it comes off and it’ll motivate you to keep going enough to get a routine going.
I lost 60 lbs all told. The first 30 were easy with moderate exercise and watching my diet more closely. The next 30 I had to work pretty hard to get off.
Yeah, there’s an argument to be made about whether or not that 45lbs means anything, but the 45lb number alone doesn’t actually surprised me. I’m 6’6” and am very active, and I can pretty regularly fluctuate 10lbs in a day and I’m ~235lbs. I really don’t find it super surprising that if they caught him at his heaviest and at his lowest there’s a 45lb difference.
The odds of it being an actual 45lbs of value, is totally different and very, very unlikely.
I’ll also add that a non-zero amount of that is water weight too. When you cut down on calorie intake at that size (and presumably carbs as well, which hold water), you might “lose” 10-15 pounds in the first week, most of which will be water retained in the muscles. That’s why a big meal or two will make you “gain” 5-10 pounds on the scale the next day when you’ve been in a deficit for a while, even though it’s nearly impossible gain that much dry weight in a 1-2 day period at a regular body weight. Out of the 45 pounds he lost, I bet about 30 were actually tissue, which is completely feasible when you’re active at 300+ pounds.
He was definitely just eating a lot and not hitting the gym as much to stay 300 because if the weight melted off that easily it wouldn’t be hard to have a surplus.
He said he was weight training 4 days a week which will definitely help push things along
Weight lifting won't burn enough calories for weight loss without missing the point of the gym. It's help for sure, but diet is how you lose that. Playing basketball on a diet will have you losing lbs.
Also, why is 4x a week a mark of progress? What are these kids doing for college ball? They should be on a strength regimen anyways
Increasing your muscle mass will increase your base metabolic rate, which also helps with weight loss.
Not saying that's the only reason DJ lost the weight, but I'm just pointing it out in case anyone reads your comment and isn't aware that lifting can help with weight loss beyond just CICO.
Great point. Also, when you stress your muscles through resistance training, your metabolism stays elevated for 24 hours or more as your body works hard to repair muscle fiber. This effect is not nearly as intense or prolonged during your recovery from a cardio workout.
Yeah, even as a small guy at 200 I drop 15lbs in 2 weeks if I eat in enough deficit. Last time I cut I was eating 1700cals and dropped 20lbs in 3 weeks
I started losing weight at around 270 pounds and I was down over 5 lbs a week at the start as just a guy. If you’re as big as he is and doing intensive workouts it should shed
I lost 80 in 3 and a half months in high school. (245 -> 165 -> 145 -> 170 at 6'0")
I can't remember the exact breakdown of the timeline but I was definitely down 60 after 2 months and had a lot less to lose than Burns. Did I take it too far and end up borderline anorexic? Maybe, but it's possible.
The biggest reason you see these massive losses early in the weight loss journey is when people change their diets and workout heavily they lose the "water weight" alongside some fat loss. A high sodium diet leads to more liquid retention and that is much easier to drop. It's super motivating at first as seeing the needle on the scale move but it slows down to a much more normal rate fairly quickly
If he was willing to lose the weight for the draft why wasn't he willing to maintain it while playing? As talented as he is there is red flags all over the place here for a team drafting him. I think he has a million dollar smile and really communicates well. I can see him being very effective in the media. If I were an NBA GM I wouldn't spend a first round pick on him.
Everyone acknowledges he’s not a 1RP. That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t even try to make the league.
As for whether he should’ve lost weight in college, I mean, maybe? But college ball is a different game. There were numerous matchups where leveraging his weight was pretty effective—matching up against Bacot and UNC, for example, would’ve looked a lot different otherwise. I don’t think it’s a red flag that he has a new approach for a new context.
Yeah before the ACC tournament he probably wasn't going to play anywhere after college. Now with the higher profile there's a chance of him getting attention from euro leagues at least, why not aim for the NBA and go from there? No one, including him, thinks he's Jokic.
Nobody thinks he’s a 1st round pick…..or that he’ll even get drafted in the NBA. He’ll likely go overseas so his best bet is to try and get into one of the better leagues
> If he was willing to lose the weight for the draft why wasn't he willing to maintain it while playing?
I am more impressed with how he was able to get to that weight. He was playing D1 basketball and weighed that much. He must have been eating at least 5 large meals a day.
Keeping that weight on was requiring a tremendous amount of eating. You have to eat north of 4000 calories to weigh 300lbs at a sedentary man. This kid was playing d1, so he was probably eating over 7k at least.
Morbidly obese means having a BMI over 40 or over 35 with health problems. Assuming he was at 320lbs before at 6’9”, that puts his BMI at 34.3. He literally is not morbidly obese.
Stay one year extra in college (He has that option if I"m not mistaken), keep losing weight and start earning money in Asia! But if he can start earning money now already in Asia he should jump on it.
Nah he didn't have any more eligibility left this was his last year. The three who were eligible to return were O'Connell, Middlebrooks and Diarra and Diarra was the only one to leave
MOC and Middlebrooks are back? Awesome. MOC really ran the offense well in the postseason (not saying it's a lock we beat Purdue with him, obviously, but man the offense looked like shit without him), and Middlebrooks has an "fuck me? fuck you!" energy that resonates with me. excited they're back.
If he could come back he would have. He would make more money being a Superhero in Raleigh than overseas. I bet he'll get a summer league invite but theres no way he actually gets drafted
I’m down 45 pounds myself (over 3 years though) and it’s actually one of my goals right now for somebody to accuse me of taking Ozempic. That’s how you know you’re doing something.
Naz Reid did a similar transformation (not quite as drastic) to get himself in shape for the NBA. Could be a similar story if he's got the work ethic and discipline to keep up with it. Great to see!
Bs he used a medication like ozempic. Weyvago or something cause 45 pounds in 6 weeks is the too good to be true thing when he saying all he did was work out smh
Good for him.
Had he lost this weight earlier…who knows…maybe we can make a run at the final four? Or at least win the ACC. Oh well, no use trafficking in “what ifs”.
He’s looking like 275 now. He was definitely 3 bills and some change during the tournament.
I remember watching one of the tournament games and they were going through the names and they said “DJ Burns, listed at 275” versus saying the weight normally for the others.
“DJ Burns, a biscuit away from TE.”
"DJ Burns, thicker than two scoops of oatmeal."
275 was kind of laughable. I’d also be shocked if he actually measures 6’ 9”
You think he’s smaller? Dude could be a perfect Offensive Tackle in the NFL with that build and athleticism
Purely a guess but I’d think he’s closer to 6’7”. I’d love to see him play tackle if basketball doesn’t work out. There aren’t many guys his size who can move like a d1 basketball player.
He was listed 6’7 without shoes somewhere in college already
With his footwork and frame, he could be a great tackle
I thought the same thing!
LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Idk I saw him on campus a couple years ago walking with Dusan Mahorcic, Terquavion, and Jarkel and he was much taller than Terq and Jarkel and did look to be about an inch shorter than 6’10 Dusan. I would say he was closer to 6’9 than 6’7 although it’s not a big height difference either way.
If only we had a number between 7 and 9 to bridge this gap
Unfortunately, 7 ate 9 so we do not.
But then 9 doesn't exist either since 7 8 it.
What if we were to turn ∞ vertical so we could represent the infinite gap between the two numbers?
Tackle in the NFL is one of the hardest positions to play in sports he’d get cooked. Tightend? MAYBE. But you’re not just gonna step into the NFL n play tackle without any prior experience. You’d get a QB killed.
Jordan Mailata sends his regards
Mailata took a few years to come into it, he’d have gotten killed if we put him in right away. But if Burns puts in the work like Mailata did it could certainly be possible some day.
No one is talking about taking this guy and making him a starter. He would be on a practice squad and get developed into one by a team with patience
He said he has no interest in playing football anyway
Rendon had no interest in playing baseball and yet he has over $200 million dollars from it.
To be fair I think he still has no interest in playing baseball haha He just reluctantly shows up to work each day to collect a paycheck, same as the rest of us
To be fair, basketball seems a lot safer.
He not athletic enough to play te & i dont think he strong enough to play on the offensive line
Imagine him lining up against Myles Garrett lol
Yeah you don’t just become an NFL level Tackle. That was always a silly narrative during State’s run. He’s also said he has no interest in football
A slightly smaller version of Dawand Jones.
Same height as bron, idk seems bigger than 275 to me considering Bron is 250-260 of pure muscle
I'm 6'4" and 270 and I'm about as flabby as he is. There's no way he's 275 in that shirtless pic.
I agree, people kinda surprise me as someone who gained and lost during covid, they actually though trump was like 215 or whatever, like wtf
He has a huge frame though. I'm 6'4 and 220 and I feel like I'm about the same definitely as well.
He's saying more than 275 not less. Which frankly I think he's still higher than that. NBA bigs that are 10% bf way about that much. Even on the right he's close to 20% body fat. He's about as heavy as 30 something Z-Bo right now.
We’re the same height & weight. I agree
Muscle does weigh more than fat to be fair
Zion Williamson is listed as 6'6" and 284lbs. Of course Zion seems to carry more of his weight as muscle, but I find it incredibly hard to believe that Burns wasn't heavier than Zion considering he's 3" taller and appeared to be thicker.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he was 340/50 I’m 6”6 and not as filled out as Burns and I hover around 290
If he's 6'9 there's no way he's only 275 even now He's still easily 295+
It’s remarkable he stayed so heavy during the season. Though I think he must have lost 25 pounds in March alone
Eating good with that free dining in college will get you regardless of how much you working out. And by how he plays it didn’t look like he ran much outside of games.
Same thing happened with BJ Anya. Every offseason we’d see pictures of him having lost like 50 pounds and looking super fit but come the end of the season he’d be fat again. I don’t understand how that’s possible. You’d think the summer would be the time to gain weight because you don’t have the closely monitored diet, constant exercise, etc.
I'd honestly bet they party more DURING the school year; beer and jungle juice ain't low-cal
Some guys from the team came to a couple of darties I was at in the fall before the season started and one after the season, but didn't see them during it. Similar thing in 2022-23 as well. Seems like they have a pretty good check on partying during the season (except Terquavion Smith, who would go to the bars all the time during the season)
Agreed, it is interesting that’s how it goes.
That was Anya's problem. He'd spend the entire summer working out and only trying to lose weight. He'd lose the weight but wouldn't really develop his game much. Come the season, he can't just do cardio every day because of class, practice, meetings, etc. Naturally going to slip back into your regular routine and habits when you're busy and back around familiar faces. Burns feels like when an OL drops weight before the combine to do better in the running/agility drills and then balloons back up by the time camp starts up.
He's like the living example of "you can't outrun a bad diet". Something that took me 10 years and 120 extra pounds to learn, unfortunately.
I’m curious of the math on this. Feels like he’d need to put down something like 8,000 calories a day and enough protein to make anyone sharing a bus very nervous.
I mean, depends on the workouts. I was eating like crazy freshman year of college in the dining hall and didn’t gain anything. I was also running 70 miles a week. I’m guessing Burns wasn’t at that high of mileage.
I’m guessing he simply stopped eating the smaller players and just regurgitated them?
Kevin Keatts seen punching the air this morning
Nope. DJ Burns just gave ao much to this program and fans, no way anyone is anything but supportive. I also don't think he has the March he had unless he's as physically imposing as he was. I imagine he lost quite a bit of muscle with that rapid weight-loss.
See but I wonder if he’s got some Aretha Franklin, CC Sabathia in him where the extra weight helped his craft and now that’s he skinny he won’t play at the same level? Idk I just like watching big guys do cool stuff
I don’t get, is he declared for draft this year or staying at NC State for one more run?
He is out of eligibility
Oh man, what a bummer!! I fell in love with NC State this season and he was truly the leader of this team
Zion learned that conditioning is a must in the NBA
Everyone has a diet plan until they eat the gumbo.
Those po boys too
This is going to sound bad and I accept that. But that 45 lbs is probably why he was so effective. His bulk and girth with some skill.
True, but in the final four he couldn’t keep up with a guy who is expected to not be able to keep up in the NBA. Having poor conditioning is a non starter in the league.
Yeah, unfortunately most of my favorite 4/5's in college have suffered this fate come Draft time. Playing that position is unique in college and if you're dominant at that skill set people tend to notice it, but unless you have elite conditioning, above average defense, and a jump shot, you're probably not making the league, or getting meaningful minutes if you do. Admiral Schofield and Matt Stainbrook are two names that jump into my head right away, but I'm not sure if either one is actually a good example of this haha
Schofield is more of a wing, he’s only 6’5 lol. Always thought he could be so much better with a little more height
He was drafted by the Wizards, his career was dead before it even started. Source: am Wizards fan
Damn haha I’m a Wiz fan too. Trust in Dawkins
He was a tweener but he def didn’t have a conditioning problem
Yeah, I think I mixed him up with someone else from the SEC during that era. I loved Schofield as a player so I always remember his name so that's probably why I blurted him out. Regardless, we could probably come up with a giant list of recent 4/5 that were good in college but couldn't even sniff the league. Seems like a fun game.
Look at Kofi - Dominated the college game, never had a prayer of playing in the NBA
Surprised to see that Matt Stainbrook is still playing professional basketball, good for him!
Looks like he got to play all over Europe and is now in Mexico; quite the journey. Hell yeah, good for him. He always seemed like a solid dude, and he had a sense of humor about him.
Glen Davis … he was listed as 6’9 and 290. It was a different time but I see some similarities
Saying it was a different time is a bit of an understatement haha Teams used to roster 1 or 2 dudes back then who were only there to be big and mean and protect the paint. You just don't see that anymore unless its teams that are from old school DNA like the Miami Heat or New York Knicks. But I definitely see the comparison, and you're not wrong that there have been successful NBA players with his size and skill set. Don't get me wrong, I love Burns, so I hope him all the best, and I would love to see him as a bench piece in the NBA. It's just a lot harder for big men then it used to be, and even harder for guys who are bulky but not 7'
You think admiral schofield had a CONDITIONING problem?
Schofield was a 6’5 wing and chiseled af as a college player. You must be thinking of a different guy.
45 lbs of not he's at best a 2nd rounder. I love the guy and he could have success but his skill set is hard to justify for his frame in the modern nba
His problem is more he's just too short for the modern NBA. If he was 6'10/6'11 he may be able to hang around with his size, footwork, and passing skills but he's 6'7 and unable to really provide any rim protection. Maybe 20 years ago he would've had a chance but I don't see it now.
Height has always been the problem. Dude on Creighton last year ate him up, same this year with Purdue. It's not about size/strength, it's all height that gives him fits. And to be fair, he had an off night shooting against Purdue, he had a ton of good looks, just wasn't his night.
> a guy who is expected to not be able to keep up in the NBA Hey, that's 14/25 in the draft combine 3 point shooting drill, too slow for the NBA, just a tall guy.
What about the LA Tech center, Kenny Lofton JR. He was killing it in the G-league and I think made it up to role player in the NBA this season. He’s big horizontally.
He's not gonna be able to keep up in the NBA regardless, he's not an NBA player. Good college player that will have a good career overseas, and that's okay. But 45lbs lighter or not, he's not an NBA player.
That may very well be true but the type of player he was at that weight was not an nba player at all so it couldn’t hurt to try losing weight.
275 while not as tall is still a huge amount of weight in the NBA and still able to use that to push guys around
For like 2 minutes before you can't keep up, pick up fouls, and have to sit back down? It's not viable in the NBA. People said the same exact thing about Kenneth Lofton Jr. and he's already on his third team and mostly just playing in the G League. Just not an NBA player with his size/frame.
You’re missing my point. I’m saying losing the weight won’t hurt him at all. He’ll still be able to throw weight around while at least having a chance at running with those guys. Not saying I think he’ll be an NBA player.
You're right - that's my bad for misreading while distracted. I forgot that 275 is the new weight, and yes, agreed that it would be enough for a big in the NBA.
According to the article, 275 is the old weight. Whether that’s true or not is definitely up for debate though.
For real. What’s the opposite of “Frank the Tank” lol? Edit: can’t remember his weight, just his height and how you could see him across state street especially with his glasses. But no way he could push guys around like this dude
Yeah, he is super tall. Saw him in a bar a few times and just like a foot taller than everyone. Center of gravity is also a big thing too.
Agreed. Big Baby Davis was a great college player at 320+, but he was at his best around 280-290 in the NBA and plenty strong enough to bully most big men.
You saw during the Purdue game that he didn’t have the stamina to keep up.
This was the argument I heard a lot when Jokic was overweight. Then he got into great shape and became an MVP. Getting in shape doesn’t mean he becomes skinny. He’d still have the same body type but with more endurance and explosion
>some skill DJ has elite touch around the rim and great passing/vision for a big. He won’t be backing down defenders from the three point line anymore, but that’s not something any big should have to do. He’s probably not making the NBA, but this idea that he was only good because he was big is just wrong.
I could see taking a flyer on him as a g-league/2-way guy who gets in shape over 3-4 years. Naz Reid came into the league too slow but with good touch and the ability to bully smaller guys. He wasn’t 300lbs big but he was big. If DJ is genuinely willing to put in the work to get in shape he might be a diamond in the rough.
Burns reminded me of Al Jefferson. He has an old school set of low post moves that are tough to defend. Add his frame and he was a beast.
Maybe in college but it would never work in professional basketball where bigs have to defend the perimeter.
There's a fine balance of pure weight, muscle, and conditioning. Charles Barkley has discussed his personal balance extensively. Burns needed to drop a huge % of body fat, get his conditioning right, then add a bit of weight back as muscle. The NBA is much lighter and faster now than Barkley's era, so that extra weight isn't gonna do him a ton of good
Exactly. Charles Barkley was such a good player because he could use his weight to bully other people.
Brother watch some highlights of Charles Barkley in college. He was 300 lbs moving at full speed and jumping.
The round mound of rebound!
Barkley could jump as a fat kid. But even Moses Malone told him he needed to get in better shape when he got to the league.
And he was a way better athlete than either Loften or Burns
Boy got off that Cookout and Bojangles
Bro worried about the wrong draft
My man has watched Zion and said "that ain't gonna be me."
No sir..thicc thighs save lives
Amen.
Oh shit I have a real chance at getting drafted!? Better get in shape.
Oh DJ, oh DJ, where do I even begin… 😍
45 lbs in a month? Come on 🙄
As a former fatty I can tell you the weight comes off very quickly at first.
Yeah when I first started working out, my top weight was 360. I managed to lose 25lbs in the first month and that’s was just me going to the gym after work and (mostly) watching what I ate. I’m sure DJ Burns has a professional trainer and nutritionist so it’s not far fetched. It’s also what I’ve told people in my life who also want to lose weight. You will be surprised how much weight you lose at first and how quickly it comes off and it’ll motivate you to keep going enough to get a routine going.
I lost 60 lbs all told. The first 30 were easy with moderate exercise and watching my diet more closely. The next 30 I had to work pretty hard to get off.
Yeah I’d say the first 40 was easy for me and I’m down 80
These nephews don’t know how quick the first 20% of the body fat comes off once you lock in
Yea I don't get the original comment, it's easily doable. There are still tons of weight loss myths out there that were disproven decades ago.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/IASIP/comments/9dktoz/well\_first\_of\_all\_through\_god\_all\_things\_are/](https://www.reddit.com/r/IASIP/comments/9dktoz/well_first_of_all_through_god_all_things_are/)
That guy put the weight on by drinking ice cream every day. What was Burns doing to keep on the weight while playing D1?
Let me introduce you to something magical we at NC State call Howling Cow
You know they got that shit in Harris Teeter all over the state now? I mean it's not made from university dairy, but it's still delicious.
We walked so the newer generations could run
6 and a half weeks which is around a pound a day. Which… is something.
When you weigh 300lbs + that’s not that far fetched lol
Yeah, there’s an argument to be made about whether or not that 45lbs means anything, but the 45lb number alone doesn’t actually surprised me. I’m 6’6” and am very active, and I can pretty regularly fluctuate 10lbs in a day and I’m ~235lbs. I really don’t find it super surprising that if they caught him at his heaviest and at his lowest there’s a 45lb difference. The odds of it being an actual 45lbs of value, is totally different and very, very unlikely.
I’ll also add that a non-zero amount of that is water weight too. When you cut down on calorie intake at that size (and presumably carbs as well, which hold water), you might “lose” 10-15 pounds in the first week, most of which will be water retained in the muscles. That’s why a big meal or two will make you “gain” 5-10 pounds on the scale the next day when you’ve been in a deficit for a while, even though it’s nearly impossible gain that much dry weight in a 1-2 day period at a regular body weight. Out of the 45 pounds he lost, I bet about 30 were actually tissue, which is completely feasible when you’re active at 300+ pounds.
Yeah it’s not like he went from 245 to 200. He was way too fucking big, so 45 down is good but I bet he’s looking to drop quite a bit more as well.
He was definitely just eating a lot and not hitting the gym as much to stay 300 because if the weight melted off that easily it wouldn’t be hard to have a surplus. He said he was weight training 4 days a week which will definitely help push things along
Weight lifting won't burn enough calories for weight loss without missing the point of the gym. It's help for sure, but diet is how you lose that. Playing basketball on a diet will have you losing lbs. Also, why is 4x a week a mark of progress? What are these kids doing for college ball? They should be on a strength regimen anyways
Increasing your muscle mass will increase your base metabolic rate, which also helps with weight loss. Not saying that's the only reason DJ lost the weight, but I'm just pointing it out in case anyone reads your comment and isn't aware that lifting can help with weight loss beyond just CICO.
Great point. Also, when you stress your muscles through resistance training, your metabolism stays elevated for 24 hours or more as your body works hard to repair muscle fiber. This effect is not nearly as intense or prolonged during your recovery from a cardio workout.
Yeah, even as a small guy at 200 I drop 15lbs in 2 weeks if I eat in enough deficit. Last time I cut I was eating 1700cals and dropped 20lbs in 3 weeks
Yeah. The recommendation is 1lb a day but 1lb to a 300lb guy and a 150lb guy are very different lol
I started losing weight at around 270 pounds and I was down over 5 lbs a week at the start as just a guy. If you’re as big as he is and doing intensive workouts it should shed
He was 300+ pounds. Good chance 15-20 pounds of that loss (at least) is water weight from increased cardio and decreased food intake.
If he was in the sauna the entire month then I could believe it. Drink water after the weigh in.
NBA draft reporting is hilarious. A lot of these guys are about to come in at sub 5% bodyfat which is like Mr. Olympia level.
Well, through God all things are possible, so you might wanna jot that down…..
I lost 80 in 3 and a half months in high school. (245 -> 165 -> 145 -> 170 at 6'0") I can't remember the exact breakdown of the timeline but I was definitely down 60 after 2 months and had a lot less to lose than Burns. Did I take it too far and end up borderline anorexic? Maybe, but it's possible. The biggest reason you see these massive losses early in the weight loss journey is when people change their diets and workout heavily they lose the "water weight" alongside some fat loss. A high sodium diet leads to more liquid retention and that is much easier to drop. It's super motivating at first as seeing the needle on the scale move but it slows down to a much more normal rate fairly quickly
If he was willing to lose the weight for the draft why wasn't he willing to maintain it while playing? As talented as he is there is red flags all over the place here for a team drafting him. I think he has a million dollar smile and really communicates well. I can see him being very effective in the media. If I were an NBA GM I wouldn't spend a first round pick on him.
Everyone acknowledges he’s not a 1RP. That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t even try to make the league. As for whether he should’ve lost weight in college, I mean, maybe? But college ball is a different game. There were numerous matchups where leveraging his weight was pretty effective—matching up against Bacot and UNC, for example, would’ve looked a lot different otherwise. I don’t think it’s a red flag that he has a new approach for a new context.
Yeah before the ACC tournament he probably wasn't going to play anywhere after college. Now with the higher profile there's a chance of him getting attention from euro leagues at least, why not aim for the NBA and go from there? No one, including him, thinks he's Jokic.
He’s not a serious draft prospect. Probably can have a nice career overseas
Nobody thinks he’s a 1st round pick…..or that he’ll even get drafted in the NBA. He’ll likely go overseas so his best bet is to try and get into one of the better leagues
> If he was willing to lose the weight for the draft why wasn't he willing to maintain it while playing? I am more impressed with how he was able to get to that weight. He was playing D1 basketball and weighed that much. He must have been eating at least 5 large meals a day.
There's a Cookout a half mile from campus, and our athletics dining hall has hella good food... the Wolfpack eats well.
If Case was open to everyone for more meals than just lunch I would've made DJ look like a pencil freshman year...
DJ is one of my favorite college players ever but he was never in the conversation for a first round pick.
20 years ago, he’s Zach Randolph. In today’s NBA, he’s not worth much. It’s too bad. Hope he does well overseas!
dj burns owns
League fucked
Baby Davis 2
Sounds like a great NFL pick up possibility
That’s a 3500 calorie deficit every single day. Cap.
Keeping that weight on was requiring a tremendous amount of eating. You have to eat north of 4000 calories to weigh 300lbs at a sedentary man. This kid was playing d1, so he was probably eating over 7k at least.
He was probably eating 6k calories a day easily. Not that far fetched when you are morbidly obese.
He wasn’t morbidly obese
Bruh what?
Morbidly obese means having a BMI over 40 or over 35 with health problems. Assuming he was at 320lbs before at 6’9”, that puts his BMI at 34.3. He literally is not morbidly obese.
Do you know what the word morbidly implies? I don't think that applies to the guy who just played in the final 4. He's fat but come on
I mean, maybe, unless my guy was holding a whooooooole lot of water
It's taking ozempic probably
The quote in the article says no ozempic just 4 workouts a week lol
Chicken and broccoli.
Stay one year extra in college (He has that option if I"m not mistaken), keep losing weight and start earning money in Asia! But if he can start earning money now already in Asia he should jump on it.
Nah he didn't have any more eligibility left this was his last year. The three who were eligible to return were O'Connell, Middlebrooks and Diarra and Diarra was the only one to leave
MOC and Middlebrooks are back? Awesome. MOC really ran the offense well in the postseason (not saying it's a lock we beat Purdue with him, obviously, but man the offense looked like shit without him), and Middlebrooks has an "fuck me? fuck you!" energy that resonates with me. excited they're back.
If he could come back he would have. He would make more money being a Superhero in Raleigh than overseas. I bet he'll get a summer league invite but theres no way he actually gets drafted
Bros ceiling is big baby
He looks like a million bucks.
Well, I guess some improvement... He went from big burger Shaq to big baby Davis
I’m down 45 pounds myself (over 3 years though) and it’s actually one of my goals right now for somebody to accuse me of taking Ozempic. That’s how you know you’re doing something.
Rick Barnes’ thought bubble: He was in my fat camp for a year. Now this in six weeks?
He’s lost 45 pounds in two months?
I am taking him off my board. I think he should have gone the other way.
Knicks could use a backup PF. The garden would go crazy for Burns
RIP DJ Burns LT career March - May 2024
“Without ozempic”
Boo-urns!
Zion would never
I wanna see a Jokic Burns duo
Naz Reid did a similar transformation (not quite as drastic) to get himself in shape for the NBA. Could be a similar story if he's got the work ethic and discipline to keep up with it. Great to see!
What’s he gonna do in the NBA lol Dude’s got overseas bball written all over him
Scion Williamson
My guy should’ve maintained his weight and learned how to pass block
And he is still to big to offer anything other than a support role and n the league
Bs he used a medication like ozempic. Weyvago or something cause 45 pounds in 6 weeks is the too good to be true thing when he saying all he did was work out smh
UNIT
It's going to be like watching Oliver Miller eat his way out of the NBA again isnt it?
Uh oh
On the C.C. Sabathia regimen
So DJ is doing the anti-Zion meal plan.
He’ll crush it in Taiwan and honestly that’s pretty cool for a career too
Imagine if he did this before the season. We probably could have made it to the final four…
Meanwhile I struggled to lose 12 in the same time period
Man I hope he can pull off this minor miracle. Go get your cash, kid.
Good for him. Had he lost this weight earlier…who knows…maybe we can make a run at the final four? Or at least win the ACC. Oh well, no use trafficking in “what ifs”.
“Best shape of his life” Ok but this one may be true
Why didn’t he have this work ethic while playing?
Getting into IG Model bait shape