“It Got Dark” Justise Reveals How D-Wade & Co Saved Him From Battle With Depression

Playmaker

&quot;Mental Health doesn&apos;t just go away.&quot; NBA Vet and NCAA Champion Justise Winslow first opened up about his struggles with depression & mental health in Miami in 2019. Athletes are too often &quot;raised not to complain&quot; and left to feel isolated without a place to turn. Realizing a change was needed & dealing with injuries on top of it all, Justise shared his story and was met with an outpouring of support from those that had been dealing with the same things. He credits former teammates Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh for their guidance and also Demar DeRozan, Kelly Oubre and Kevin Love for inspiring him to share his own journey. Since then, he&apos;s been one of the most outspoken advocate for athlete sharing their stories and helping them find the help they need. He uses his platform to inspire the next generation to striving for greatness while prioritizing healthy balance.  #Justisewinslow #NBA #basketball   Subscribe & Hit the Bell to Turn on Post-Notification: https://www.youtube.com/@Playmakr - Follow Playmaker on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playmaker/?hl=en - Follow Playmaker on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@playmaker?lang=en - Follow Playmaker on Twitter: https://twitter.com/playmaker - Follow Playmaker on Threads: *link* - Shop Playmaker Merch: https://playmakerbrand.com/ - Playmaker is all about stories, highlights, and in-depth behind the scenes moments of your favorite athletes and celebrities.  MB01FPA5XGEHMFO MB01HRPHLP2STBY MB01C1YBR8NMMRG MB01IML16W8AB9X

Transcript

00:00 When you get hurt, you realize how much you need these certain body parts and the hip

00:04 was definitely a big one.

00:06 It hurt a good amount.

00:07 A couple picks later, you know, I'm getting picked and living the dream right now.

00:13 You are going to Miami for my friend and you're going to go down there and you're going to

00:16 play with Dwayne Wade.

00:17 What can fans expect to see?

00:25 Injuries man, they present a roadblock that you weren't even prepared for.

00:29 It's heavens out the blue.

00:31 That dream I had as a kid inside me to be the best and to win championships.

00:35 I just keep that fire with me even when things aren't going great.

00:39 Just keeping that confidence and that big picture.

00:44 Learning to deal with things that are out of your control.

00:46 We all try to be the best.

00:49 You got to have the right outlets and the right team and people around you to help you

00:53 deal with that or you can kind of just shrivel down to a point that's not supposed to be

00:59 you.

01:00 Growing up in a house full of athletes, my siblings played, my dad played professionally.

01:09 Just growing up in that environment, I kind of just gravitated towards that style of competition.

01:14 Growing up in Texas, you know, I was super like football first, football was my first

01:17 love, but eventually I was still so skinny and I got ran over once.

01:22 So that was it for me in football.

01:26 We were a very, very competitive family.

01:29 It could be taking the trash out, like who's going to take the trash out the fastest, who's

01:32 going to dust the room the fastest.

01:34 We were extremely, extremely competitive.

01:37 We were always, I feel like, either playing one on one or something or on the same team.

01:42 I guess our best moment, my brother and I was the state championship and hitting the

01:47 buzzer beater.

01:48 Other than that, I feel like he probably picked on me a lot, made me tough.

01:53 But yeah, just brotherly love.

01:54 We had a few cousins or older siblings.

02:00 He was the baby that we always beat on Justice, but it's just funny how all things turned

02:05 out, right?

02:06 Like we went from beating up on him to like, maybe he was in eighth grade, ninth grade

02:09 to like, yo, you can't play outside.

02:11 Like you got way bigger dreams than running the court today on this cement.

02:16 So it was interesting to be a part of that whole process.

02:18 He said it right every game during the tournament, Justice, big shot, ways home.

02:24 For sure, right when I saw here.

02:27 Tough shot.

02:28 He said it every single game, the big shot.

02:32 Duke just seemed to fit me just overall as a person.

02:36 Coach K has been, you know, grooming young men and ballplayers for forever.

02:40 So just the track record, you know, they kind of had it, had it figured out.

02:44 I think Coach K's ability just to adapt, you know, year to year, error to error, whether

02:48 it's, you know, recruiting four-year guys or one and dones.

02:53 We were raised not to complain, right?

02:54 I think Justice was raised not to complain about being the youngest.

02:57 I think I was raised not to complain about that I wasn't 6'5" like everyone, right?

03:02 We were so focused on all of us achieving our dreams that we've sometimes forgot to

03:08 just sit still and sit in our emotions.

03:12 And sometimes those emotions weren't good and it was okay for them not to be good, if

03:16 that makes sense.

03:18 You mentioned to the Miami Herald you went through these dark times.

03:22 What was your hardest moment in those first two years when you were in the midst of that?

03:26 It was just kind of a duration of time, you know, just a period of, you know, extended

03:30 months, you know, almost, you know, years at a time, just not really being happy.

03:37 Just getting confidence and believing that, you know, you can just go out there in general

03:41 after an injury.

03:42 It takes a lot.

03:43 You got to have, you know, good people to lean on and to trust and put your faith in.

03:48 Living one day at a time and trying to figure out each moment and be present.

03:53 My rookie year was loaded with, you know, big time vets from D-Wake, Chris Bosch, Lou

04:00 Alldang, Mario Stoudemire, Mario Chalmers, trying to help us all figure it out.

04:07 So it was a good mix and they kind of really guided me through that first year.

04:13 One thing that was hard was just the timeline that we kind of had put on things.

04:17 My body just wasn't living to that timeline.

04:19 It was living at its own pace.

04:21 So whether it's an injury or, you know, becoming an NBA champion or different things someone's

04:27 trying to accomplish in life, you know, you have this strict timeline that we always try

04:30 to live to and it's great.

04:31 You know, you don't want to be too complacent or just sit back and let moments fly by.

04:36 You got to run your race and stick to your own pace and sometimes you just got to listen

04:40 to your gut or listen to your body.

04:42 You know, for myself as an athlete, I'd be like, "Okay, you know, I'm just living at

04:45 my own pace, my own timeline."

04:47 While still trying to be ambitious and still trying to work hard and accomplish things,

04:51 but just understand that sometimes the pace and the speed of things just aren't in your

04:55 control.

04:56 But, you know, just your mindset and mentality, if you have those things in order and straight,

05:01 then the results or whatever you're trying to get done, eventually, you know, will take

05:06 care of itself.

05:07 It wasn't just one thing that helped me get over the hump or just made every problem go

05:12 away, but just doing the things that made me happy and brought me peace, whether it

05:16 be meditating, really be journaling, talking to family, friends, having a core group of

05:22 people that opinions actually matter to you.

05:25 You know, they're actually invested in the process, invested in your results and they

05:29 care about you and they're not just going to tell you what you want to hear.

05:33 So I think that's what makes blocking out the noise easier for me, is I know, okay,

05:37 those people there, they're going to keep it real.

05:39 They're going to tell me the truth.

05:40 Yeah, you have that mutual support and, you know, you find strength with.

05:47 Not all basketball players, not all men of color are able to get out and be an inspirational

05:52 story for everyone.

05:53 And I tell them all the time, like, there's nothing as an older brother that I can be

05:56 proud of because I wasn't able to do that, right?

05:59 But you are able to figure that out.

06:01 Because being an athlete is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility, whether you want to be

06:06 or not, you're a role model to these kids.

06:08 They want to be in your shoes, so help them be better than you are or reach their dreams.

06:15 I just try to use my platform to one, just have fun and be creative and execute my own

06:20 ideas, but then also just to uplift and inspire.

06:24 I've definitely had people younger than me come up through the ranks, like, you know,

06:27 even just my story and me being open about it, they'll say that that helped them or seeing

06:31 me bounce back from injury and come back stronger, that helped them.

06:34 You just got to keep the main thing the main thing and you can't always just run and flee

06:39 when adversity hits.

06:41 Trying to be someone you're not, whether on social media or in person, trying to live

06:45 fast and grow up too fast or have it all figured out by 25, I think it's just almost a mindset

06:50 and conditioning thing that we got to kind of sort through.

06:55 Like my brother says, it's a great day to have a good day.

06:58 Just trying to be 1-0 every day, I think it sounds simple, super simple and cliche, but

07:04 just trying to win the day, whether it's an off day or a game day as an athlete, whether

07:09 it's just a day as a dad.

07:13 I really, unfortunately, I don't try to live too far in the future.

07:16 I can't book a flight two weeks or a month in advance.

07:21 So for me, it's just, hey, what am I going to do today?

07:24 How am I going to be able to wake up and look myself in the mirror at the start of the day?

07:29 I want to win collective and individual accolades in the league, but just continue to prove

07:33 myself and to be an NBA champion and just to be surrounded by my family and my friends

07:40 that I love.

07:41 I mean, that's the goal is to be a champion.

07:43 Gaining that respect around the league.

07:45 You know, again, you know, there's ups and downs, but I think just the respect and also

07:50 just having fun, you know, as my son continues to get older, just sharing those moments of

07:54 me on the court and him being at all the games and the rest of my family as well.

07:59 It's just, you know, continue to create memories.

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