How DeMar DeRozan changed the conversation around mental health in basketball | It started with a tweet. It has since pushed others to speak up and changed the NBA
September 16, 2024
How DeMar DeRozan changed the conversation around mental health in basketball | It started with a tweet. It has since pushed others to speak up and changed the NBA
6 comments
Props to Deebo for promoting the self awareness in the NBA
>It was Feb. 17, 2018, in the very early hours of the morning. By all accounts, DeRozan should’ve been riding high. The Raptors were sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 41-16. The shooting guard was about to represent the Raptors as an NBA All-Star in Los Angeles, not far from his hometown of Compton, Calif. > >But instead, DeRozan was struggling — and he couldn’t sleep. He had decided not to go to a concert with his friends nor to an All-Star Game party where he was expected to make an appearance. He was overwhelmed by people hitting him up, asking him for tickets to the game or to drop in on the party. And he just needed rest. > >”It just kind of made me hit a wall. You know, it led me to, in the middle of the night, to tweet out a tweet,” said DeRozan, who just released his book, Above the Noise. > >He posted, “This depression get the best of me…” > >Then he put his phone down and went to bed. When he woke up, he had a landslide of missed calls, texts, and messages, all people checking in on him. > >… > >Some of the greatest players in the NBA have changed the game, from how it’s played to the very rules that govern the sport. Stephen Curry revolutionized basketball with his three-point shot. Shaquille O’Neal was such a powerful dunker, the NBA had to change the suspension system for its rims and backboards. > >But DeRozan changed the game off the court, according to Casey. > >”He should be credited across the NBA,” the former Raptor coach said. “By him putting that tweet out, [there’s] no telling how many lives he saved and how many players he helped to make it not such a bad thing to ask for mental help.” > >After DeRozan’s post, other players spoke out about the challenges they faced. Kevin Love, who currently plays for the Miami Heat, shared his struggles with mental health through an article in The Player’s Tribune, and in 2022, he told ESPN that DeRozan’s post saved his life. > >”When I hear those things, it means a lot to me because it lets you know that it worked,” DeRozan said of his post.
Loved reading this account of his iconic tweet, and the changes that came from it around the NBA. The section above that talks about who’s changed the game is right — DeRozan changed the game off the court, and is not just iconic for doing so for basketball, but also potentially other sports as well. Kudos!
What a great legacy to leave on the sport
[deleted]
What’s the deal with all of the Deebo articles and interviews lately? Seems like he is on a press tour.
I went on meds like a month after this. I was starting to take it seriously a for a short while before this but I remember that tweet made me feel normal enough to make a move towards it.
6 comments
Props to Deebo for promoting the self awareness in the NBA
>It was Feb. 17, 2018, in the very early hours of the morning. By all accounts, DeRozan should’ve been riding high. The Raptors were sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 41-16. The shooting guard was about to represent the Raptors as an NBA All-Star in Los Angeles, not far from his hometown of Compton, Calif.
>
>But instead, DeRozan was struggling — and he couldn’t sleep. He had decided not to go to a concert with his friends nor to an All-Star Game party where he was expected to make an appearance. He was overwhelmed by people hitting him up, asking him for tickets to the game or to drop in on the party. And he just needed rest.
>
>”It just kind of made me hit a wall. You know, it led me to, in the middle of the night, to tweet out a tweet,” said DeRozan, who just released his book, Above the Noise.
>
>He posted, “This depression get the best of me…”
>
>Then he put his phone down and went to bed. When he woke up, he had a landslide of missed calls, texts, and messages, all people checking in on him.
>
>…
>
>Some of the greatest players in the NBA have changed the game, from how it’s played to the very rules that govern the sport. Stephen Curry revolutionized basketball with his three-point shot. Shaquille O’Neal was such a powerful dunker, the NBA had to change the suspension system for its rims and backboards.
>
>But DeRozan changed the game off the court, according to Casey.
>
>”He should be credited across the NBA,” the former Raptor coach said. “By him putting that tweet out, [there’s] no telling how many lives he saved and how many players he helped to make it not such a bad thing to ask for mental help.”
>
>After DeRozan’s post, other players spoke out about the challenges they faced. Kevin Love, who currently plays for the Miami Heat, shared his struggles with mental health through an article in The Player’s Tribune, and in 2022, he told ESPN that DeRozan’s post saved his life.
>
>”When I hear those things, it means a lot to me because it lets you know that it worked,” DeRozan said of his post.
Loved reading this account of his iconic tweet, and the changes that came from it around the NBA. The section above that talks about who’s changed the game is right — DeRozan changed the game off the court, and is not just iconic for doing so for basketball, but also potentially other sports as well. Kudos!
What a great legacy to leave on the sport
[deleted]
What’s the deal with all of the Deebo articles and interviews lately? Seems like he is on a press tour.
I went on meds like a month after this. I was starting to take it seriously a for a short while before this but I remember that tweet made me feel normal enough to make a move towards it.