Guerschon Yabusele won’t hate on his weight as he seeks answers for the struggles at the top of his New York Knicks career.
Yabusele, officially listed as 6-foot-7 and 265 lbs. on the Knicks’ official site, addressed the issue—or, as he claims, lack thereof—with Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. The first-year Knicks said he was at peace with his body’s status and will look to improve through technique and adaptation rather than adjusting his physique.
“About this, because I heard it, and I could if I wanted to talk about it, but I just decided not to,” Yabusele told Bondy. “People say whatever they want to say. If you guys check with my weight from last year, it’s the same. So last year it wasn’t a problem, why is it a problem this year? I’m actually less than last year.”
Bondy’s report says that Yabusele should actually be listed at 283, while last year’s notes from his previous employers, the Philadelphia 76ers, placed him at 279. That’s still way off from the current heaviest, an honor that currently belongs to Zach Edey at an even 300 pounds as he stands at 7-foot-4.
Despite Yabusele’s healthy assurances, some observers have tried to blame his weight, and perhaps working overtime, for his slow start in Manhattan.
Next to fellow reserve extraordinaire Jordan Clarkson, Yabusele was one of the marquee additions of the Knicks’ last offseason. He cashed in on his new New York deal by landing captaincy honors for his native France at the most recent EuroBasket competition over the summer.
But Yabusele has struggled to live up to his new eight-figure contract earned after a domestic breakout season with the Sixers, averaging only 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds while shooting less than 35% from the field entering Wednesday’s game in Charlotte. He may have been teetering dangerously close to “DNP-CD” territory before injuries to other contributors like OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson forced Manhattan’s hand.
Yabusele would be held scoreless against the hosting Hornets as Knicks starters stole the spotlight in a 129-101 shellacking. But just as the narrative hasn’t done much to shake his confidence with his body, the early struggles have done little to mess with his on-floor faith.
“Shots are always up and down, especially in the season,” Yabusele said in Bondy’s report. “If you look back at last season, some games I was making more than other games. Sometimes it’s not going in and sometimes it goes in. So I’m going to keep working every day, coming to the gym and make sure to get those shots and when I get in the game, try to be prepared.”
