Bonkers... bonkers everywhere! 

Isiah Thomas said his daughter had an overdose to protect himself from the press. 

Yao was never able to come out of his shell and make everyone know he should be called Ming instead. 

Leon Smith attempted suicide on 250 aspirins. 

Manute Bol used to play drunk. 

Michael Jordan gambled his problems away. 

Magic Johnson eased the pressure off giving away free samples of love. 

Larry Bird left Indiana University twenty four days after arriving and started driving a garbage truck in French Lick. 

Chris Mullin almost drunk his career away. 

The Durant review
 

Kevin Durant didn´t leave his bed for two days, overwhelmed by the reaction to his "decision". Then went on to say "relationship with Westbrook will never be the same", then went on to say he withdrew from US Basketball in 2014 because of the ongoing shoe war on him between Nike and Under Armour.   

Indeed, if you take a close look at Durant words, they look pretty defensive: "Charles Barkley said my legacy has dipped, I guess. I don’t even know what ‘your legacy’ means. It’s your decision to tell me what my legacy is to you. That’s how it is now. Individually, what do you think Michael Jordan’s legacy is about, LeBron James’ legacy is about? That’s an individual, personal thing. I can’t control that." No assertiveness whatsoever to be found in those words, if you ask me. Depending on others to set the tone of the most important issues in your life is a recipe for dissaster, as it leaves you always one step behind of the dominant narrative on what´s going on. And that applies to you and me, average joes, and to basketball stars. On top of that, Durant´s lack of assertiveness seems to fit with the theory that portrays Westbrook as a person who simply took a bigger and bigger role in Thunder´s offense just because he wanted to and felt he could do it.

All of the above goes to show how underrated the mental side of the game is. Virtually every NBA player you can think of, from big marquee names to nearly noones, have, this way or the other, succumbed to their own ghosts, fell short of their own expectations, crumbled under a heavy load, you name it.

Game of microphones

In fact, everyone that´s put under the media microscope seem to fall short of the test... singers, politicians, actors... no one passes the test, with one exception: the second generation stars. Children who were born into the fame world and were allowed to learn the tricks of the trade slowly, behind the scenes, seem to live naturally in that kind of world. Nba can show some examples of this:

Kobe Bryant not breaking down under the national coverage of his Colorado incident, Mike Dunleavy Jr surviving the early bust label, Andrew Wiggins, Ben Simmons, Tony Parker, Luke Walton... the list goes on and so does the trend: these individuals seem better equiped, psychologically speaking, than their unheralded counterparts for the media game, or even better equiped than those who may be sons of former players but weren´t raised in that kind of environment.

Warriors show two examples of players that grew up inside the system, and seem pretty comfortable standing in their spot: The Splash Brothers, Curry and Thompson. They both seem relaxed and cool with their current status, as it is nothing more than another step in a life curve they have seen their own father take. Both Dell Curry and Mychal Thompson lived long, successful careers, with ups and downs, accomplishments and shortcomings, media exposure and both the privileges and pressure that come with it. You can even see the saga going on taking a look at the Curry family: while Ayesha overreacts like anyone would when first into the oven that american media is, Riley looks at the circus with the natural attitude only a kid can show.

  

Summing up, mental game will be an important one for the Warriors´ quest of the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Fasten your seatbelts, for bumps are coming down the road... 

#nba #basketball #warriors #gsw #durant #curry #thompson #draymond