Leandro Barbosa is still on an NBA roster—not to mention in the rotation of the best team in NBA history—because of crazy horse medicine. That's the diagnosis from the man himself, in an interview with The New York Times.
Barbosa, 33, hosted his teammate Shaun Livingston in Brazil last summer and told Livingston his best secrets for remaining a valuable NBA commodity, including drinking a green liquid extract from "arnica do mato," a South American shrub.
"It’s a medicine you give horses," Barbosa said. "Whenever they get hurt, it helps them recover very quickly. Because they have to run."
He offered some of the potion to Livingston, who turned it down.
"It burns going down," Barbosa said. "You kind of feel dizzy if you’re not used to it. I got used to it."
Barbosa said his whole family drinks it, but his teammates are not fans of the taste.
Harrison Barnes said it tastes like acid, and Festus Ezili said he almost threw up when he tried it.
Barbosa averaged 6.4 points per game this year. If it seems like he’s been around forever, that’s because he has. He was selected by the Spurs in the first round of the 2003 draft, and he was the Sixth Man of the Year in 2007, when he played on the Nash/Stoudemire/Marion Phoenix Suns.
His Warriors play the Blazers and will look to take a 3-0 series lead in Game Three Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
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