The Real-Life Diet of Detroit Pistons Center Jalen Duren, Who Eats a Pound of Grapes Per Day

Jalen Duren, the starting center for the wildly entertaining Detroit Pistons, is an athletic marvel. With a six-foot-ten stature, 250-pound weight, and protruding muscles, Duren has the type of body that was ready-made for the NBA as a teenager. In fact, when he made his professional debut, he was the youngest player in the league, at just 18 years old.

Four years later, Duren is primed to make his first All-Star team, and credits many internal changes for his improved play. Given his revamped approach to health and wellness, it’s perhaps no surprise that his points per game average is the highest of his career. Out went Sour Patch Kids and massive, growing-young-man portion sizes, in went tasty summer fruits and regular soft-tissue massages. Duren has kept a few things consistent during his four years in Detroit, though, like avoiding the pregame spreads at NBA arenas, and maintaining his cinephile habits on the Pistons’ charter flights. In our conversation, Duren explained the dental hygiene-based reason for his new diet, his favorite Leonardo DiCaprio movie, and the mindful technique he practices as soon as his morning alarm goes off.

GQ: I heard you got a bit of a wake-up call during your rookie season. You had to give up candy or else you could have suffered some pretty serious tooth damage?

Jalen Duren: Yeah, that is true. That is very true. I was coming in, just being young and not really understanding the importance of everything. I was big on candy, really huge on sweets. But I changed that, switched it over and started eating fruits that were similar, like grapes, strawberries, pineapples, those types of things.

You’re eating a pound of grapes per day now? Is that true?

I do eat a lot of grapes. One, because at our practice facility, our chefs do a great job. I don’t know where they get them from or how they pick them or whatever, but these are some of the ripest grapes. I’m telling you, they’re the best grapes I’ve ever had. I feel like a lot of people will tell you that.

That plays a lot into it, and that just kind of kept me off the sweets. Now, at this point, I’m not even thinking about candy. Grapes are definitely my go to. It’s easy. It’s convenient.

What was the candy of choice that was destroying your teeth?

Man, all the gummy things, just the worst kind of candy. I was on Mike and Ikes. I was on Sour Patches, just all the BS that puts you in a bad spot.

Red or green grapes?

I don’t care. You can mix with me.

Do you ever freeze them?

No. I’ve tried it frozen. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just not for me.

Last question about grapes. Is this constant throughout the day? What’s the consumption strategy?

It’s just kind of my snack, honestly. This is what I eat between meals. I wouldn’t say it’s the first thing I eat when I wake up, but after breakfast, in between breakfast and lunch, going through practice or getting treatment, moving throughout the day, after workouts, all those types of things. I definitely fit them in a lot.

Do you still have room for comfort food or desserts in the diet? Does the chef ever make you cookies or cakes or anything like that?

Yeah, but it’s rare. I’ve just got accustomed to eating the way that I do. It’s tough. I’ve lost the taste for it. It’s crazy that I’m saying that now, but it’s just not the same. I can’t imagine myself eating a whole bag of Sour Patches or a bunch of cookies. I had a birthday and my mom made a cake. I was like, ehh. I had a slice and then I had to let other folks eat it. It does take a lot of discipline.

Is there anything that you’ve done to improve your body, your stamina, or your overall fitness level that’s allowed you to have such a good start to the year?

Absolutely. Over the summer, I took a look at my body. Honestly, getting older, my body has been changing. What I’m putting in it has become more and more and more important. Talking to my team nutritionist, talking to my personal chef and everybody around me, we came up with a plan that started over the summer that actually helped me get my weight to exactly where I wanted it to be. From there, we just kept it going.

The diet really just lowered my portions. You know what I mean? Instead of eating so big and bulky, I lowered my portions and made it more about protein, a lot of green. At first, before the season, I was cutting out the carbs. Now that we’re in-season, I kind of got those back in there, and I cut out the sugar. That was the biggest thing, too. I cut out all sugar. So, the juices and the whatever, everything that I thought was good before, cut that out. I started having my chef make fresh juice, so instead of normal apple juice, I have my chef squeeze real apples. It’s nothing added, no flavors, nothing.