On Jan 20, 2022, Nick Young felt he was forced out of the NBA league. He revealed on Throwing Bones to Draymond Green “Yeah.. uh, I felt like you know, they were just ready to get rid of people like me, JR (Smith) and like… It was like a cleanup crew for some reason.” And now in 2024, he talks about the struggles he faced after his days in professional basketball. Similar to fellow ex-NBA player Gilbert Arenas.

When asked on ‘djvlad’ about his statement “Life after the NBA is cold.” Reflecting on his post-NBA life, Young highlighted the emotional toll of leaving the sport he loved. “Yeah, it’s cold and it’s like you trying to find yourself. You do get depressed, you miss basketball. When you even play basketball it’s just not the same you know you can’t do the same moves you used to do,” voiced Young on djvlad.

Nick Young shared that even mundane tasks became methods to cope with his depression. Despite trying to stay active with fitness and pickup games, Young noted it wasn’t the same. “I remember I was at the gym the other day somebody was like ‘oh you here now you at LA Fitness with us now’. Like people ‘oh Nick ain’t got it no more, you can’t do that, you can’t dunk no more you at LA Fitness with us playing.‘”