The Philadelphia 76ers are hoping to take a page out of the Denver Nuggets’ playbook by holding their training camp at Colorado State University this year.
The Nuggets won the NBA championship last season after training at altitude in Colorado Springs. The 76ers will be training at Moby Arena on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins.
“We’re going to try to cut out some of the things that maybe we can improve. And it’ll kind of develop from there, and that journey will start Day 1. It takes a bit to get to know each other — both coaches and staff knowing players, and players knowing the coaches and staff says Coach Nick Nurse.
The 76ers’ training camp runs from Oct. 3-6. It is expected to be closed to the public. The regular season opener is on Oct. 19 against the Boston Celtics.
In addition to the 76ers, a number of other NBA teams have held training camp at altitude in recent years. The Los Angeles Lakers, the Miami Heat, and the Utah Jazz are just a few of the teams that have reaped the benefits of training at high altitude.
There is a scientific reason why training at altitude can help athletes perform better. When athletes train at altitude, their bodies produce more red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the muscles, which allows athletes to perform at a higher level.
