Maybe it goes without saying, but NBA players are superhumans. They’re bigger, faster, more athletic and way stronger than 99% of human beings. Naturally, you can’t tell that difference by watching them on TV going vs, each other, because they’re all built like that.
However, some players stand out even amongst the freaks of nature that play in the NBA. Some of them even bully them around in the paint by making the most of their physical gifts, and Andre Drummond may be one of those cases.
Still, even Drummond had a tough time vs. former NBA player Nikola Pekovic, who he deemed the ‘strongest human he played against’ in his entire life, even admitting to hating the matchups between the both of them earlier on his career.
“He’s by far the strongest human I played against in my life. He is a very very strong man. I hate playing them every time I saw them on the schedule. Hated it. I knew he would move me around. I felt like a kid. He was just pushing me around. I’m fighting as hard as I can to stop him from backing me into the paint and I can’t stop him. Yeah, he’s very very very strong. He’s the reason I started lifting harder. I can say that to this day, he is the reason why I started lifting weights more seriously,” Drummond told Zach Harper.
"He's the reason why I started lifting harder."
@AndreDrummond reveals to @talkhoops and @DarthAmin the strongest player he ever faced in the NBA. pic.twitter.com/wAUF1fFMkA
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) April 13, 2020
We’re talking about a 6’11”, 279-pound specimen here. I mean, it’s not like Drummond could be easily pushed around. Still, a savvier, stronger Pekovic always seemed to get the best out of the young star of the Detroit Pistons, now playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Pekovic could’ve had a long and successful career in the NBA if it wasn’t for injuries. Besides his strength, he was quite smart and agile with his feet. Gladly for Drummond, not only he’s not around the league anymore but he motivated him to become a better, more dominant player.
