Paul George Reveals about his Depression in NBA Bubble

George's performance plummeted since he started in the NBA bubble through Game 1 to Game 4. Obviously there was a sigh of relief pretty evident on Paul George, the Los Angeles Clippers star's face as the team won Game 5 with him notching 35 points. 

George bounced back in Game 5 after a string of bad performances in the last couple of days. With this win, Clippers hold a 3-2 lead and a final score of 154-111 and have set a franchise record. Before the 154-point mark was the third most for any NBA team in history.

Paul George’s anxiety & depression in the Bubble.

After this stupendous performance, George acknowledged his depression & anxiety in the bubble. He also acknowledged that the inner storm he had been struggling with had also extended beyond the court. 

After a flood of disturbing comments about his performance going 4-of-17 in Game 2, 3-of-16 in Game 3, and 3-of-14 in Game 4, this was a relief for George in Game 5 with 35 points. If we count from Game 2 to Game 4, the average for George was 11.3 points per game, which made for 21.3% field goal shooting.

It was George and Kawhi Leonard who were considered the wings of the team and led the Clippers to a 1-2 through those games. However, Leonard was obliged in the playoff, George had to struggle through Game 1 to game 4.

There was a degree of aggressiveness in George that was probably the thing that saved him and scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting during Game 5. He finished with 35 points, two assists, three rebounds on 12-of-18 shooting in Game 5.

George’s Performance & his mental health struggle in the Bubble.

After game 5, talking about his past performances in the season and the mental health struggle he has been enduring in the bubble, George said he had picked up from the depression, and mental health struggle.

George in his statement said that “Whatever it was, the bubble got the best of me. I was just in a dark place. I really wasn’t here, I checked out. This past couple of games, it was just difficult. Shout out to the people that stood behind me, that was in my corner. The positivity, my teammates, my family, friends, everybody. Thank you to everybody who reached out to me. I was just in a bad place. I found my way, I’m back, and I look forward to the rest of this run.”

George confessed after the Game 5 win for Clippers about how he was fighting depression and anxiety, and that he had been putting mental health at the back of the seat and the ramification of being in the bubble could have on his mental health. He also confessed he could only hit it back, after he met the team psychiatrist.

Mental health inside the Bubble in Orlando.

Be it on online platforms or otherwise there has been a flood of criticism coming in for George after he shot 10-of-47 combined in games 2, 3, and 4. While it has not been clear whether it was this hatred or the team psychiatric meeting that played a role — but he had said that at one point in time he had the thought of checking out basketball in the NBA bubble coming in.

However, there are a couple of interesting things for the players at the Walt Disney World resort-like fishing, swimming & more — but it is pretty tough to be away from the family and be as happy and productive as you usually are. He discussed his issue with the team psychiatrist before Game 5, that was probably the reason he could perform and overcome his mental health issues.

George revealing about his mental health is not anything surprising, there have been instances in the past when players have shared their struggle of mental health issues and how it had affected their professional obligations.

In fact, the National Players’ Association in 2018 had launched a program focused on mental health & wellness for players. This program was launched to make it easy for players to get in touch with health counselors. In the same vein, the NBA’s Rookie Transition Program was launched to spread awareness about mental health issues. Whatever has happened with George is not surprising — playing in such a format can sometimes affect your brain negatively. The good news is that George is back with a bang!