Thon Maker spent nearly 40 minutes after a recent Milwaukee Bucks practice working on his shooting, and every time he missed a shot he hit the deck – no easy feat at 7-foot-1 – for a perfect-form, straight-back, full-range-of-motion push-up.

And not just any push-up.



A fingertip push-up.



Last spring, Maker vowed to spend the off-season getting stronger, and he kept that pledge – even down to strengthening his fingers and hands.



“I feel great. Strong,” said Maker.



The 20-year-old’s approach to his second year in the NBA has been with dedicated focus. Two weeks after the season ended disappointingly with a first-round playoff lost to Toronto in April, Maker started an ambitious strength building program drawn up by his trainers in Milwaukee.



Three and a half months later, at the Bucks' media day to kick off the new season, the team's owners were excited about all the muscle that Maker had added to his super-lean frame.

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Listed at 216 pounds last year on the official roster, Maker didn’t want to say how much weight he put on.





But it is obvious he he did gain.

“Yes. It’s somewhere I like being at," Maker said. "It’s working out really well for me.”

Bucks coach Jason Kidd said the weight will allow Maker to endure the banging inside and prevent him from being pushed around.



“He’s no different than Giannis (Antetokounmpo) when he first came into the league,” said Kidd. “You can see that he’s getting stronger. That will help him.”



Maker had a really good second half of his rookie season, averaging 4.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 13.1 minutes in 34 games during February, March and April. But he couldn’t anchor himself inside against the other big centers in the league.



“Playing this position, I’m going against bigger guys, stronger guys and, obviously, heavier guys,” said Maker. “So for me having to go against the weight that they hold, trying to hold my ground, it’s kind of putting a lot of pressure on my joints.”



Maker wanted to take care of those joints. He wants a long career. And he wants to score. He had to get stronger.



“It’s going to help me out on the offensive end, too,” said Maker. “When I am making moves, little bumps don’t bother me. And I will be able to finish through contact.”



Maker worked on speed and agility drills, explosive movement that requires strength. It was good to see progress. But there were always challenges.



“I’m not a big fan of pull-ups,” said Maker.



That’s because he has a boutonniere deformity on his left hand small finger. The tendon has split on him – part of it going in the back of his finger, the other part going in the front, and the front tendon is the only one that works. He can’t grip the bar comfortably. He had to find a different grip.



“I just had to fight through that, mentally,” said Maker. “But when I came in the league and I used to do seven pull ups – max. And now I have easily doubled that – and I weigh more.



“Pull-ups, if you do them right and do correct form, the whole upper body is in motion. It really helps because you have to lock in everything, lock in the core. You’re working all your upper body.”



During the strength workouts in May, Maker had no recovery days. No ice baths. Never ibuprofen. He lived with the soreness intentionally, to train the body to heal itself without aid.

Now that he’s in season, Maker continues to work. All of the players do prep work to strengthen the tendons before they practice. Maker’s favorite is leg extensions, holding weight for 45 seconds.



“You just let it burn,” said Maker. “You’ve got to meditate through that. But it works – that’s why we do it.”



Of course, Maker couldn’t put on a little muscle just by working in the weight room, either. He learned all about nutritional timing, and that meant drastic changes.



Maker used to like the light feeling and the adrenaline of working out on an empty stomach.



“I used to play better when I’m hungry,” said Maker. “I felt I would work out better hungry.”



But that doesn’t work best for endurance or performance. There is no fuel in the tank. The body will borrow energy from the places that Maker had just worked on to build up.



Now he eats right before practice at the new practice facility, where a chef on staff prepares everything.

After practice, Maker grabs his ideal protein shake that includes spinach, mango, peach, pineapple, strawberries and orange juice to drink while he goes through his sets in the weight room. Then he eats again right after lifting. This allows him to continue to fuel the muscles doing all that work and to recover faster from these workouts.



“I’ve gotten used to eating before a workout or before practice,” said Maker. “So I’m going to train my mind and my body to do it.”



While going through all this, it was very important to Maker that he retains his speed.



“I think I’ve actually gotten quicker because of the work we did," Maker said.



“I just feel big, moving people around with my weight in practice. I had to go against Greg Monroe and his size in Santa Barbara. It was really good. I felt good holding my ground.”



The Bucks as a team aren’t trying to bulk up. It’s gradual plan, one that won’t put players at risk for injury or loss of speed.



The challenge now is for Maker to hold on to these gains over the next seven months.



“Obviously my minutes will go up a little more, but that means I still have to find a way to get that weight room time in,” said Maker.

“Maybe after home games. Or practice days, those are going to be the biggest days where we want to get some work in – but not too much work in, because you don’t want to not have legs for the next day.



“The main goal is to maintain what I put on.”