Hey there, folks! Let’s talk about mental health in the NBA! Yeah, you heard that right. The dudes who make millions of dollars a year jumping up and down and putting the ball through the hoop are now talking about getting their heads in the game, but not in the way you might think. The players, coaches, and teams are taking mental health more seriously than ever, with the league requiring all teams to have a relationship with a mental health practitioner. Talk about progress, am I right?

Dillon Brooks, the Memphis Grizzlies’ very own antagonizer, said that he’s using his “mindfulness practice” to tame his temper and avoid getting too many technicals in the playoffs. We all know how those refs can be, right? So, he’s journaling and meditating (or at least pretending to) to keep his cool on the court.

Then we’ve got the big man from the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo. He pledged a whopping $1 million for mental health services in Milwaukee, and he’s spoken out about how he’s sought therapy to cope with the pressure of being a superstar on and off the court. Hey, we all have problems, right?

But it’s not just these two guys. The NBA is making a coordinated effort to help players take better care of themselves mentally. They’re not alone either! The Detroit Tigers, tennis star Naomi Osaka, and even gymnastics star Simone Biles have taken mental health breaks too. It’s like everyone is jumping on the wellness bandwagon, and we’re here for it!

The NBA has required all teams to have a mental health practitioner on staff since 2019-2020, y’all. They’re not messing around. And it’s not just therapy sessions either. The teams have to have an action plan for mental health emergencies and carry a “playbook” of health and wellness exercises. Plus, all players have free access to the Headspace mindfulness app. It’s like they’re trying to make Zen cool, and honestly, we’re here for that too.

The Mavericks’ general manager, Nico Harrison, said that they’ve seen an increased need for mental health services, especially as younger players come into the league. It’s like social media and COVID-19 have made the younger generation more in touch with their feelings, and they’re not afraid to talk about them. It’s like everyone’s drinking the emotional kool-aid, and we’re here for it again!

It’s not just therapy sessions either, folks. Some teams have a full-time sports psychologist on staff. The Lakers have a whole director of mental health, and the Philadelphia 76ers keep four mental health pros on call. The Wizards even have three psychologists and therapists on staff, plus access to dozens more through their partnership with MedStar. It’s like they’re building a mental health Avengers team, and we’re here for it the third time!

So, why is everyone so into mental health all of a sudden? Well, we can thank Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan for that. They both publicly disclosed their own struggles with mental health five years ago, and it was like the floodgates opened. The more players share their personal stories, the more awareness there is, and the more everyone wants to make sure resources are available. Love even has his own charitable foundation offering a social-emotional learning curriculum for schools and nonprofits across the U.S.

In the end, it’s clear that NBA players are just like the rest of us. They have performance anxiety, they worry about their next contract, and COVID-19 made things super tough. They’re not immune to mental illness, but they are in the public eye more often. It’s like everything is magnified, which makes it even more important to take care of your mental health. Love summed it up perfectly when he said, “Brains and souls just don’t work like that” in reference to people thinking that fame, money, or social media followers can magically fix everything.

So, let’s all take a moment to breathe and remember that mental health is just as important, if not more so, than physical health. Take care of each other out there, folks, and don’t forget to laugh at the haters, like the badass Memphis Grizzlies who aren’t afraid to admit they have problems and work on them.

Serious News: nytimes