Not every player comes into the NBA with the physical strength to compete. For some, it takes a year or two with a professional training staff to build the strength to hold their own against some of the greatest athletes in the world.
That isn’t the case with Kings second-round pick Robert Woodard.
“He has an NBA body,” veteran Cory Joseph said when asked about Woodard. “That guy is jacked.”
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Listed at 6-foot-7, 235 pounds, Woodard is a full-grown man despite barely being able to walk into a bar and order a drink.
“He’s a strong young man,” coach Luke Walton said. “One of the competitions/baselines we try to get on the players is in the weight room and as a rookie, he won the bench press version of it, which -- in a grown-man league, coming out of college -- you don’t usually see that.”
At the combine, Woodard posted a 38-inch vertical and also measured out with a 7-foot-2 wingspan. He projects as an extremely versatile combo forward who should be able to handle some of the stronger wings and stretch fours in the game.
He’s not just a workout warrior, though. Woodard also has the athleticism and lateral quickness to stay in front of his man and switch onto multiple types of opponents. Early in camp, he has impressed his teammates with his energy level and motor.
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“Rob has just been everywhere, been flying everywhere, been a great athlete,” Richaun Holmes said.
The Kings have a glut of players at both forward positions, which complicates how soon Woodard will actually see court time. But with the coronavirus pandemic hanging over the head of the NBA, there likely is going to be a need this season for every player on the roster.
“He’s got a lot of potential, a lot of upside,” Walton said. “Really, really good young man, as far as when you talk to him, how he wants to be great, how he pushes himself. There’s plenty of things he knows he needs to keep working on.”
Walton pointed to Woodward's consistency with the 3-point shot as one area the rookie needs to improve in. He shot 42.9 percent from long distance in his sophomore season at Mississippi State, but on only 70 attempts.
“He’s somebody you like having in the gym -- constantly working hard, constantly running hard and he wants to get better,” Walton added. “He’s been good so far.”
Following the draft, Woodard said that he had spent the offseason working on both his 3-point shot and his dribbling. He’s a player that understands his strengths and weaknesses, but also knows his role coming in.
At the college level, Woodard was asked to play defense, run the floor and knock down open jumpers. As a sophomore, he averaged 11.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.0 block in 33.1 minutes per game.
Kings general manager Monte McNair didn’t hedge his bet when negotiating a contract for Woodard. Despite selecting him with the No. 40 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Sacramento signed the rookie to a four-year, $6.7 million contract with $3.3 million guaranteed over the first three seasons.
His deal includes a first-year salary of $1.5 million, which is roughly $600,000 more than the NBA’s minimum salary.
“It only takes one team to believe in me,” Woodard said. “Regardless of where I was picked, the Kings obviously have confidence in me and they truly believe in me. It feels pretty good.”
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So far, Woodard has impressed his teammates and coaches, but this isn’t a standard offseason. There wasn’t a summer league or months to take in the playbook and terminology.
Woodard’s physicality and versatility will help him get on the court at some point during this season, but he, like the Kings’ other two rookies, has a lot to learn. The quicker he can process the knowledge being thrown at him, the sooner he’ll earn minutes.