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The Training Guru: How Steve Hess Morphed the Nuggets Into One of the NBA's Brightest Teams

Within the leafy fields, traversing through weeds and lanky Jokic brothers, a man, apparently less than a decade shy of 100 years old, sprinted back and forth, donning nothing but white underpants. He strode and strode, flipping tires after each lap. Legend says The Professor, Sombor locals call him, can continue this exercise of insanity for 12 hours. “He didn’t even take water,” Steve Hess recalls. “I saw this cat with my own eyes.”

Now 51, perhaps Hess witnessed a glimpse into his own future. The Denver Nuggets’ former longtime strength and conditioning coach is—and likely more than ever—still built like a superhero.