The 22-year-old NBA rookie with big offseason plans: Burritos, besties and basketball

Oso Ighodaro just wrapped up his rookie NBA season with the Phoenix Suns, but the Arizona native isn’t exactly off the clock just yet. The 22-year-old is entering his first professional offseason and looking to his more seasoned teammates for guidance on what he should be doing now to help him thrive when he’s back on the court.

“I view recovery as a long-term thing,” Ighodaro tells me during an interview for Yahoo Life’s OT Diaries. “Right now, I'm young, and my body may feel good even after I play a game or the next day or whatever. But all year, I've just been asking questions to the older guys like, ‘What do you wish you would have done at this point in your career to help maintain your body when you're older?’”

And with veterans like Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Tyus Jones on the Suns roster, Ighodaro is learning from the best — and he’s been paying attention to their game-winning habits all season long. “All the little things that they do on road trips or at home to take care of their bodies … I’m trying to implement those things into my routine,” he says.

I had to ask: What’s on his agenda for this summer? It all starts with soaking up some morning sun — and maybe installing a cold plunge. Here’s what else he told me.

Congratulations on your first NBA season! Is there anything that you’re most looking forward to this offseason?

Definitely just spending a lot of time with my friends and family. Even though my family lives in Arizona, the season is so long and I travel so much that I don't really get to spend as much quality time as I would like with them. So I'm going to spend a lot of time with my loved ones.

I want to travel a little bit. I have some stuff planned to see my people, and then definitely just work on my personal development and my basketball development. So just trying to have a good summer, growth-wise.

I’m curious about your desire to get away because you do a lot of traveling during the season as it is. Do you ever just want to chill at home?

The travel during the season definitely doesn't feel the same as a vacation, so I try to mix it up a little bit. And during the offseason, you kind of get into a different routine with your workouts and your lifts [weightlifting sessions] all throughout summer. So even working out in other states or different locations helps to mix up the scenery so you don't get stagnant.

The offseason allows you to relax a little bit while still working hard because you don’t have as many time commitments. But with my free time, I’ll relax a lot more and just chill.

Are you going to be sleeping more?

I already try to get my eight hours every night. Especially on game days, I’ll get those eight hours, and then I usually take, like, an hour and a half nap before I head to the arena. I’m pretty strict with that routine.

I'm actually trying to clean off my patio this summer and try to start my mornings outside, getting morning light. I've read a lot about that and how beneficial that can be. So that's something that I'm going to try to implement this summer — not sleeping in crazy late and starting my mornings like that. But I definitely want to try to maintain my eight hours of sleep.

I love the idea of some morning light. Would you add a sauna or cold plunge out there?

Yeah, for sure. A lot of my older veteran teammates have cold plunges at their houses and use those daily. So that's something I'm looking into in the long run. They are kind of expensive, so I want to research and make sure that I get a high-quality one. Right now, I've just been using the cold tub as my cold plunge.

What will your training schedule look like to make sure you’re staying in basketball shape?

Last summer, while I was with the Suns, it was usually an hour on court and then a lift. I would usually go work out with my trainer in the afternoon on top of that. So about two court sessions and a weight room session every day.

That sounds like a lot! Are there workouts that you like doing outside of basketball?

I actually started swimming last summer. There’s a lap pool at my apartment complex, so I started doing that for extra conditioning. I really enjoyed that, so I’m definitely going to continue.

Are you as consistent with your nutrition in the offseason as you are with workouts?

Yeah, pretty consistent. Obviously, if I'm hanging out with friends or we're going to eat somewhere, I'll definitely be less strict in the offseason. But usually, I just try to avoid fried foods ‘cause those types of foods don't make my body feel great.

I usually have a pretty solid routine, and luckily, one of my favorite restaurants makes fresh food that makes you feel good. It's a place called Rubio's, right by the practice facility, that I get multiple times a week. It's one of my favorite restaurants since I was a kid. So having a favorite restaurant that is also healthy, clean food is definitely a blessing.

You seem to have a lot of plans with friends. Do you prefer spending your downtime with others or by yourself?

I love being around people. I think one thing people don’t realize about the NBA season is that you’re actually alone a lot of the time. You’re with [your teammates] a lot, and especially during long road trips, so on those days off you’re typically by yourself. So I definitely spent a lot of time by myself.

In the offseason, I want to surround myself with as many friends and family that I usually don’t get to hang around during the season. That’s what I’m looking forward to.

So the offseason really is your social season?

For sure. And luckily, a lot of my close friends are former teammates and also athletes, so I can spend time with them and work out. You kind of get that two-for-one, which is nice.

Basketball really is life for you, isn’t it? How long do you think you’ll go without picking up a basketball?

Man, I'm trying to think of the longest time I've taken off. Going from my senior year at Marquette to this year, I didn't have an offseason. So I think I took maybe a week off after the season last year and then straight into predraft. So it's kind of a year-round thing. But this year, I'll probably take two weeks off after the season.

Let’s get into some rapid-fire questions real quick. If you could only eat one food, what would it be?

Oh, definitely a Rubio's burrito. That's not a question.

If you could only drink one beverage, what would it be?

I'll stick with water, my go-to. I like to just keep it water during workouts, and then afterward, I like my protein shakes, my recovery shakes, that type of thing.

If you could choose one wellness treatment or activity, what would it be?

I would say the BFR [blood flow restriction training]. It's a recovery tool that we use with the Suns. I use it for my knees and my quads, and it helps my body feel good. So I would definitely say that, or the hyperbaric chamber, which I did during predraft. I really enjoyed that.

If you could only watch one TV show, what would it be?

I’m going to have to say Power.

If you could only watch one movie, what would it be?

I love The Avengers.