LeBron James’ Former Heat Teammate Praises Two NBA All-Stars for Shedding Light on a “Taboo Topic”

The NBA season can be strenuous, grueling even for the athletes. For six months, league players tirelessly compete, exhausting themselves completely. It takes a major toll on the human body. Injuries through the season account for the physical challenges the long season presents. However, what about mental health? For years it was an obscure topic within the NBA. But that all changed when two peers of LeBron James voiced their own experiences.

During a recent interview, the 2008 second-overall pick commended them for their work. Identifying their significant impact on the subject, he even opened up about his own mental battles.

How this LeBron James teammate and a fellow All-Star changed the stigmas

Malik Beasley spoke about the times mental health received no priority when talking to Fox News. A highly touted college recruit in 2008, Beasley played 11 seasons in the NBA. While he didn’t live up to his potential, the scrutiny would always term him as ‘incompetent’ or a ‘bust’.

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However, no one tried to understand his struggles with anxiety and depression. Even while attending Kansas State University, there was no facility to tend to the emotional distress a student would face.

“We were all just taught to be tough and to get strong,” he told Fox News.

The NBA was in an identical state. Until it came to the surface, the league didn’t have any facilities to cater to the mental health of players. The breakthrough came when two All-Stars, Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan openly spoke about their depression and anxiety. Before them, Beasley believed mental health was a “taboo topic”.

A former right-hand man to LeBron James, Love narrated the incident when he suffered a panic attack during a 2018 regular season game. As for DeRozan, he broke his silent and reserved character to be a voice for mental health. The six-time All-Star forward mentioned his struggles with depression.

They became the pioneers of change. Two top-echelon stars speaking of their own battles helped others gain confidence to share their own stories.

Their impact was unprecedented. It forced the NBA to take notice. They brought about a revolution. In 2018, the league introduced a director of mental health and wellness for the player and coaches to approach. Now an advocate of mental health himself, even Beasley recognized how Love and DeRozan’s groundbreaking confession led to the pivotal change.

“One-hundred percent because you’re talking about two All-Stars, talking about two guys who made it to heights that people can only imagine, let alone players. So, to see somebody that good, that strong, that lucrative, to come out and say they have something not right – I don’t like to call it a problem–I think it sends a bigger message than they tried to send,” he said.

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Now playing in the Big 3, Beasley wants to share his own story and help the next generation of athletes pay greater attention to their mental wellness. Their efforts have started to turn things around. Yet, the job isn’t done. Stigmas still exist, and further efforts will be needed to demolish traditional beliefs.