Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton was nearly a first-hand victim of the potentially catastrophic effects of one's mental health issues may have on his family. When the 38-year-old coach first learned about how his father, the great Bill Walton, contemplated suicide on several occasions, the younger Walton admitted to being shaken up by the dreadful revelation.

It was in his book entitled “Back from the Dead” where Bill Walton shared how he entertained the thought of taking his own life on more than one occasion. According to Bill, he saw suicide as an escape from the severe physical pain he was going through which was brought about by his back injuries.

Luke was taken aback when he first came across the shocking bit of information, and at first, could not even fathom the thought.

“I was blown away,” Luke Walton says, per Jackie MacMullan of ESPN. “I called my brothers and said, ‘Can you believe this?' I never saw it. I think as a father, you try and protect your kids. As kids you'd love to know a loved one is going through something so you could be more supportive.”

What made it even more shocking for Luke was that he had absolutely no clue about it.

“But he never let us see any of that. I asked, ‘Dad, why didn't you tell us?' It's just a different generation. They don't talk about their feelings the way we do.”

This just goes to show how nobody — not even a basketball Hall of Famer — is immune from suffering mental health issues. Thankfully for Bill, Luke, and the rest of the Walton family, things took a turn for the better.