The 11 best NBA summer workout mixtapes

There are no summer vacations in the NBA. While you were working on your tan and enjoying the weather, the NBA’s best were in the gym building their game.

In the social media age, it isn’t enough to spend a quiet night on the court trying to improve your jumper. Today’s basketball stars feel an obligation to show everyone how hard they’re working. It’s made the summer mixtape an essential part of the offseason.

With summer coming to an end and the the start of training camp just around the corner, we decided to look back at our favorite workout videos from the last few months. These are our favorite NBA summer mixtapes.

No move this summer was as controversial as DeMarcus Cousins’ decision to sign a one-year contract with the Warriors. Boogie is still rehabbing his way back from a torn Achilles, but he’s going to fit in with Golden State just fine if this video is any proof.

Here’s Cousins draining 19 straight three-pointers in an empty gym. Even Allie Quigley would be impressed. He even missed the last one just so you know the video isn’t edited too heavily.

Jahlil Okafor is looking for a fresh start. After an unceremonious end in Philadelphia and another disappointing stint in Brooklyn, the former No. 3 overall pick signed a one-year contract with the Pelicans.

Okafor is supposed to be a dinosaur in today’s NBA, a lumbering low post big man struggling to survive in the pace-and-space era. You’d never know it from looking at this video. Here’s Okafor hitting five straight corner threes and handling the ball like a guard. He’s even showing off a six pack. If Big Jah can remodel his body and his game over the summer, you can, too.

Victor Oladipo blossomed into a first-time all-star in Indiana last season after transforming his body and his game over the summer. Now you can do it too at the Victor Oladipo Skill Lab in Miami!

Watch Oladipo ace the drills that helped him blow up last season. He’s scooping up cones on crossovers, handling two balls at once, and finishing over barriers meant to mimic NBA length. More than anything, this video shows that at the end of the day, everyone just wants to be an Instagram influencer.

It was only five years ago that Joakim Noah finished fourth in MVP voting. It’s hard to remember that now after Noah’s disastrous stretch in New York, where injuries have sapped his athleticism and limited him to only seven games last season.

That’s why this video is such a joy. The entire Joakim Noah experience is on display: the tornado jumper, the unbridled joy, even his well-documented philanthropy work on his T-shirt. Noah has never made a three-pointer in the NBA over 625 games. Maybe this is the year if this video is any indication.

It’s so good to see Gordon Hayward back on the court. Less than 10 months after suffering one of the most gruesome NBA injuries in recent memory, the Celtics guard was back in the gym with super trainer Drew Hanlen showing off the skills that made him an all-star in Utah.

That injured left leg sure looks good in this video as Hayward goes through a series of jab steps, crossovers, and pull-ups. We need a fully healthy Gordon Hayward on the court this year. If and when it happens, the Celtics are going to be scary.

Dwyane Wade is looking to prove himself. “The game hasn’t changed. The opportunities have,” Wade wrote on Instagram earlier this summer. He spent the entire summer weighing his options before announcing he’ll return to the Heat for one more season.

What’s a future Hall of Famer in his situation supposed to do? Wade’s answer is simple: go to the local gym and destroy some normal dudes. Against men with the length and athleticism of the typical blog reader (or writer), Wade still looks amazing. Those moves are as beautiful as ever, even at half speed.

Dwyane: next time your’e in Chicago, come to my Monday night pickup run. I assure you: we’re all very slow and bad. You’ll do great.

Summer Russ is such a delight. Sometimes he’s stuffing the hell out of 21 Savage. Sometimes he’s showing up to Oklahoma Sooners games in a UCLA jersey. Other times he’s pulling up from half court to drill one three-pointer after another.

The first shot here is eerily similar to Steph Curry’s iconic game-winner against the Thunder in 2016, isn’t it? No one thinks of Westbrook as a shooter on Curry’s level, but summer highlights like this are a good reminder of just how skilled NBA players are.

Holy cow, just look at where Dennis Smith’s head is at during that last dunk. JUST LOOK AT IT:

Smith has all the makings of a mixtape cult hero. He just might be the best dunker in the NBA; fearless, creative and powerful all in a compact 6’2 frame. I have a feeling we’re going to be watching highlights like this every summer for a long time.

Ben Simmons is such a gifted passer that sometimes it’s easy to forget how big and explosive he is. This mixtape is a great reminder of that: here’s Simmons flying through the air for dunk after dunk, gliding through the air with a ridiculous combination of of body control and raw power.

The most impressive thing about this mixtape might be the two stepback jumpers. If Simmons brings that move with him to Philadelphia this season, watch out.

The summer’s most unlikely mixtape hero is Kelly Olynyk. How many 7-footers are out here playing point guard and running the gym while wearing a hat? Do not step at Kelly Olynyk or he will cross you up and steal your lunch money.

John Wall had the best high school mixtape of all-time. Almost 10 years later, the Wizards guard showed he can still show off for the cameras during a summer run in Miami.

The no-look passes, the extraneous spin moves, the pinpoint alley-oops ... this is John Wall in all his mixtape glory. The only difference between high school John Wall and the NBA star of today is that disheveled beard.

It’s been a joy to watch these mixtapes all summer. Please come back now, NBA. We’re ready.