The Toronto Raptors, like most NBA franchises, have always had a habit of having a strong attention to detail.
Second-year coach Darko Rajakovic lines up well with that phenomenon, having garnered a reputation for his meticulous development plans for each and every player.
Recently, the Raptors skipper joined the X&Os Chat podcast in his native Serbian, where he dove into many topics, including his journey into the NBA and how he deals with coaching young players.
But perhaps the most interesting insight involved Rajakovic explaining how he prioritizes sleep when the team goes on road trips, including working with the team staff to ensure their travel schedule is as smooth as possible.
“Sleep is the cheapest and the best medication not only for professional athletes, but for every person. When you sleep well, you are in a better mood. It regulates body chemistry and proper nutrition throughout the day… you don’t change your patterns,” Rajakovic said on the show.
“True recovery is happening during sleep. So, we pay attention to how we organize our trips.”
Rajakovic then revealed the most important rule to follow when deciding when the team will gas up the jet to head to their next city on road trips.
“Adrenaline is very high after every game. If we can’t get to the hotel before 2 a.m., I am not travelling that day with my team. If you finish your home game at 10 p.m., you get home at midnight,” Rajakovic said.
“You as a player or coach can’t sleep right away. You need your adrenaline to go down, to need to calm yourself and then you fall asleep at 2 a.m. So, it is important to me to get to a certain city before 2 a.m. If not, then we will stay in [our previous] city and then travel the next day. So, sleep is very important.”
Though some NBA back-to-back schedules might prevent Toronto from letting that happen, it seems to be a reasonable enough rule to follow. And the Raptors need all the rest they can get, given that they’ve gone 2-10 on the second half of back-to-backs this season.
The Raptors are at home at Scotiabank Arena Wednesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers, but head out on a four-game road trip beginning in Utah this Friday.
Given Rajakovic’s rules behind travelling and the fact that it’s a four-hour flight to Salt Lake City, the Raptors will likely have their wheels up sometime on Thursday to begin their next journey.
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