Portland Trail Blazers (DR)
When we think of the life of an NBA player, we think above all of the millions, of playing basketball to earn a living, of beautiful houses. But all is not always rosy. During the 2016/2017 season, a young league star almost went under definitiatively in the face of his demons. His testimony is particularlyt upsetting.
For a large part of the fans, the life of an NBA player is approaching a dream life. Indeed, what enthusiast would not like to be paid to play basketball morning and evening? And in the biggest league in the world we are not talking about a few thousand dollars, but rather about huge contracts worth several hundred million for the best players… Then with fame come many other opportunities.
But what you can’t know or imagine from the outside is all the pressure that goes with being an NBA player, all the insults and teasing that must come with poor performances, the daily uncertainty in the future, in an environment where exchanges can take place in a few minutes at the discretion of the leaders…
Justice Winslow reveals the reasons for his alcoholism
For Justice Winslow, who spoke in a poignant interview with a journalist from The Athletic, it is the fact of not being able to play that has been the most difficult to manage in his career. Forced to give up his passion for a while due to injuries, he went through the darkest period of his life. He was looking for a substitute for the excitement he felt on the pitch, and almost lost himself to his demons:
“I was incredibly selfish back then. I thought the world revolved around me, and even more so when injuries prevented me from playing and being on the pitch. I didn’t know how to fill this inner void. That’s when I started feeling some negative thoughts and letting a lot of darkness come into me. »
He started to drink excessively, he chained the conquests. Frustration and misunderstanding about his parents’ divorce, which were repressed when he was playing, came to the surface. “I came to the NBA and at 19 everything was fine for me. Then everything went into a spin and I had to find the solutions myself. I didn’t know how to do it. I didn’t know who I was. »
Justice Winslow, like many players, lives only for basketball, his profession, his passion. And when he got stuck in the infirmary during the 2016/2017 season, he didn’t know how to fill the void left by the orange ball. He might be a millionaire, be one of the best young people in the league, but he turned to alcohol and women, like so many others in the “normal” world… Fortunately, he managed to get out.
Life as an NBA player isn’t always rosy. When he found himself unable to play because of injuries, when the most important part of his daily was taken away from him, Justice Winslow almost went under. He’s probably not the only one.
