This offseason, mental health in the NBA has become a hot topic. Big-name players of past and present like Kevin Love, Paul Pierce, and DeMar DeRozan have all publicly discussed their battles with depression and having to deal with it while attempting to play basketball at its highest level.
Now, you can add Boston Celtics power forward Marcus Morris to the list.
In an interview with ESPN's Jackie MacMullan, Morris opened up on his struggles and how his head coach and general manager helped him find help.
Morris and his twin Markieff, currently on the Washington Wizards, grew up in an impoverished neighborhood in Philadelphia, and he is adamant that the area he grew up in played a part in his anxiety as an adult. Surrounded by gang life and violence, Morris developed trust issues quickly.
“Honestly, I didn't feel like I could trust anybody — not even the people in my neighborhood, who I knew my whole life. We just walked out stressed all the time. I said to my brother once, ‘You know, this is no way to live.'”
His mental health deteriorated to the point where he began to question one of the few things he had truly loved from an early age. The game of basketball, which had rescued Morris from the very streets that tormented him, was losing its appeal due to the stress it was causing.
“I start asking myself, ‘Is this for me?' The money is great, but is it good for me as a human? Shouldn't that matter more than anything?”
Thankfully, Morris was traded to the Celtics at the beginning of the 2017-18 season. When they recognized his struggles, Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge pointed him in the direction of a psychologist, something no other franchise had done.
Dr. Stephanie Pinder-Amaker immediately had a huge effect on the state of Morris' mental health.
“She has helped me so much. It may sound silly, but just closing my eyes in a dark room and breathing for 10 minutes a day helps me. I know lots of guys who are dealing with some kind of anxiety and depression — not knowing if they have a job next season, not knowing if they're going to get traded. It's so stressful. Everyone is pulling at you. They want your time, your money, a piece of your fame…If you have depression, you should be trying to get rid of it instead of bottling it up and letting it weigh on you and weigh on you and weigh on you.”
Morris may be a famous NBA player who seems indestructible on a basketball court, but he is not immune to the problems that strike millions of average Americans today. Hopefully, taking his story to the public can help some of these people take the next step and get help too.
Follow Us
Subscribe