Steve Hess on working for George Karl and "smashing" summer Sombor workouts with Nikola Jokic

Steve Hess shared the Nuggets’ weight room with some true workout warriors over his 20-year run with the organization.

Kenneth Faried, Juancho Hernangomez, Carmelo Anthony and Danilo Gallinari all earned Hess’ weight room stamp of approval, as the former Nuggets Director of Performance detailed in part 1 of his conversation with DNVR. So did the 5-foot-5, 133-pound Earl Boykins, who once bench pressed 315 pounds with Hess spotting.

Another weight room warrior according to Hess?

Nikola Jokic.

“He never missed workouts in the weight room,” Hess said.

Hess was with the Nuggets when Denver drafted Jokic 41st overall in 2015 and joined the seven-footer in his native Sombor, Serbia two summers later. In part 2 of his conversation with DNVR, Hess discusses working out in a Sombor field with Jokic, his brothers, and a few other guests, what it was like to work for George Karl, Brian Shaw and Michael Malone, advice for players and the general public on how to keep a positive mindset while at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and much more.

DNVR: You worked closely with Nikola Jokic in the weight room right when he was drafted.

Steve Hess: On the road he was always the first one in the weight room. Always on time, giving legitimately 80-100% of everything he has at the time. He’s smart. He has the ability to not take himself too seriously so everyone around him, he calms them down. The other thing about Nikola is he’s a true hooper. And the things he’s overcome mentally and physically, he doesn’t care what people think. He’s a legitimate human being, one of the most loyal, unbelievable human beings I’ve ever met in my life. His emotions are real. His work ethic is real. He has no fakeness to him. Just a legitimate, real, unbelievable human being. He’s a superstar in the league not because he feels like he has to impress anyone. That’s just who he is. He’s just an incredible human being.

DNVR: What was it like to workout with Nikola in Sombor?

Hess: One of the hardest workers I’ve been around is absolutely Nikola. Such a hard worker. We were in Sombor in 2017. We were doing our speed and agility and our top end speed and explosive power with that guy who was there in his underwear. That guy they said was 90-years-old. He would hit the field in the sun for 12 hours. All he would do is drink water and he would do these workouts with these MMA guys and they were doing somersaults and back flips. I’m like, ‘This guy’s gonna die!’ We would go a.m. and then p.m. and he would be there the whole time. The vibe we had with Nikola and his brothers, we would be smashing it and I keep looking over to this guy, he’s gonna fall down. That guy is the professor. They have so much respect for him. Those 12 days in Sombor, we killed it the whole time. It was amazing. His mental capacity and his warrior mentality, it was freaking unbelievable.

DNVR: He started lifting after games at the beginning of the season.

Hess: He’s an individual who embraced the weight room since Day 1. It doesn’t surprise me at all. The great thing about him is he’s always looking to evolve the process and find a better way. Nothing he does to achieve greatness will ever surprise me in any way shape or form because he legitimately wants to be the greatest basketball player he can be. And he’ll do whatever it takes to get there.

DNVR: You worked for three head coaches, George Karl, Brian Shaw and Michael Malone. What were the biggest differences between the three?

Hess: The first few years with George I was like, ‘I hate the dude.’ He killed me every day for three years, called me a sack of this, a sack of that. It was three years of that and I was like, ‘I’m gonna shoot myself.’ If it wasn’t for guys like (assistant coaches) Tim Grgurich and Chad Iske, I would have stepped off the ledge. But after that. Once George had the faith in you he — when it comes to X’s and O’s, reading the vibe, how many games we have to win in a month, he’s a genius. We went to Atlanta. Got in Saturday and played Sunday. Had a bunch of injuries. We ended up going seven deep. We were down by 20 at the half, and George came in and said, ‘Look. I’m ready to go out there.” And we won. He was unbelievable. I have so much respect for his knowledge of the game and how to manipulate the system to win. Love that. Respect that. And then I do respect his loyalty. I feel like with his coaching staff he was very, very loyal. But I’m going to reiterate that those first three years I felt like I was going to die.

When it comes to Coach Mo, blue collar, works late, works hard. If you do your job he supports you 2000%. I think he has a great way with players. I think he has an incredible opportunity to be one of the greats. He’s a visionary and lives for the game. I’m thinking of sending my son to the same prep school that he went to largely because he lives it. I have a lot of respect for him. B Shaw, relationship based. He has an amazing ability to communicate and get guys to pull together and on his side. Sometimes things turn out, sometimes they don’t. But I think all these guys all had big time positive attributes and I’m just blessed to share some part of my journey with them.

DNVR: Do you still communicate with the team at all?

Hess: There are about four guys on the team that I’m fairly close with. But here’s the thing. I’m going in my direction. They are going in theirs and six weeks pass and I go, ‘I’ve got to reach out to my guys!’ I love the squad. I love the whole squad. My mornings start at 3 a.m. and I’m pretty much locked into 17-hour days.

DNVR: Do you miss being a part of the team?

Hess: Everything I choose to do I’m direct and intentful with. Here’s what I miss. I miss when it’s a game and you have a winner and you have a loser and the comradery we all have when we’re in battle and you’re one unit. The highs and the lows, I miss that. I was able to watch my son’s entire season, 25 games, and I’m starting to lose my shit in the crowd. I miss that head to head.

DNVR: Did players ever yell at you to sit down and stop screaming so much from behind the bench?

Wind: Absolutely! Wouldn’t you? Sometimes I’d make the wrong calls even. We would be on back-to-backs and I’d be screaming every morning at practice or shootaround, and I’m screaming and yelling and you can see some of the guys and they’re like, ‘I‘m gonna smack this guy.’ The one thing is the organization and players allowed me to be me. That’s an unbelievable opportunity when you can be who your are 24/7.

DNVR: Felipe Eichenberger has taken your place as the team’s strength coach since you stepped away. You guys worked together for a few years with the team but did you know each other before then?

Hess: Felipe called me every day for three months to the point where I’m like, ‘Oh my god I’m going to shoot this dude!’ I said, ‘Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to hire you at my gym for a full year.’ And then once he started working for me I’m like, ‘This guy’s legit.’ An authentic, real human being that I’m blessed to be around. I think he’s got attributes that are far better than mine. And again, he learned a lot of stuff that he was able to manipulate and do his way. Again, a great assistant and he’s doing a great job. I think he does an amazing job with the team. I think he’s established some amazing relationships. I think it’s authentic and I’m incredibly proud of everything he’s done and continues to do.

DNVR: What can players do to stay in basketball shape at home during the hiatus?

Hess: Have a basketball in hand pretty much 12 hours out of the day. I don’t care what it is, if you’ve got to go get a backpack and then you weigh out water bottles, a gallon jug is eight pounds. You weigh out two of those so you have two backpacks that can act as kettle bells. You can do swings and squats with those. Come up with a tactical way to increase your explosive power by lifting and creating more strength. Make sure you’re eating appropriately, balancing carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Make sure you’re eating six times a day. Make sure you’re hydrating. Take care of your body. Get nine hours of sleep. Keep your mind invigorated. A huge, huge thing, watch tape. Players you love, watch them. Visualize it. This is a visual game, man. Guys can get so much better by just visualizing. Put this all together and you can come out of this better rested and have a clearer head than you would have had and get right back into your season. But you have to be smart. You have to be tactical.

DNVR: How long would you estimate that players need to ramp back up in a mini-camp or preseason environment if the NBA does decide they want to continue the season?

Hess: There’s so many factors that go into that. When does the NBA come back? Do they go back to the regular season? It’s a very, very broad question. I think it’s largely dependent on what players have in their houses. Do they have a basketball court? To give an exact time frame, that would be something I’d have to collaborate with coaches. But on the broad spectrum, and again I’m generalizing, at minimum if it was a two month hiatus I think it would have to be a 2-3 week period. In an ideal world three weeks and again I don’t think it’s an ideal world. Everyone’s just trying to do the best job that they can.

DNVR: What’s your best advice to people whose spirits are down due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Hess: The brilliant thing about what I’m going to recommend here is these are specific processes I’ve put in place that have really really helped me. Here’s my routine. I legitimately get up at 3 a.m. and I get my workout in. Then, I lock in. I’m starting to write a book. I’m finding different things to do where I’m being proactive. In my head I’m visualizing, OK, how can I take advantage of this time? We’re in a really messed up situation. I don’t put the TV on. I maybe look at it one time during the day because I want to keep a positive mindset. I look around. I have my family around me. When’s the last time I had my family around me like this? When’s the last time I could have a conversation for 45 minutes with my son? When’s the last time I could hang out with my wife like this? These are things I’m like, ‘OK. I’m blessed to do this.’ I ask how can I better myself? What more can I do?

Things I would recommend is I would absolutely eat the way I normally eat. I would try my best to train the way I normally train, and I will try to stay on schedule. Then, what can I do to help others? What can I do to help others around me? How can I facilitate this to broaden the way I think of people? How can I be more selfless? How can I become a better person? Everyone knows where we’re at. Everyone knows the risks. But how do I help this issue and not add to it? I practice that every day. I’m a human being and when I start asking questions I move away from that because I can’t allow myself to get down there. I’m one of those guys that when I get too dark it’s really hard for me to get out of there, so I don’t go there. I try to be selfless, stay on routine, stay positive, and stay active. Oh my gosh, stay active. Find a way to come out of this so that you’ve done more stuff than you’ve ever done. Do the best job that you can.