“It’s time to focus on my mental health. » Andre Drummond had made this declaration at the end of March, to justify himself having deleted the social networks applications on his phone. But why had he made this decision at this precise moment?
Two days before this announcement, on March 27, the Bulls played in Los Angeles against the Clippers. Just moments before the game starts, the pivot seeks out Wendy Borlabi, the Bulls psychologist in charge of the mental health of players in the franchise.
He only has a few minutes (eight exactly) to explain his discomfort before the jump ball is played. “I don’t know what I’m going to say, but I need to say something”, he throws at her. It is then the conclusion of two complicated days for Drummond. Arrived in Los Angeles on March 25, in his hotel bed, he said to himself that he must “take back control of his life, that he needs to ask for help, talk to someone”.
“I was worried about having thoughts I’m not supposed to have”
First, he writes down his thoughts, but he fails to formulate them to his friends, his family or his teammates. Then, he plays his match against the Lakers, then the next day, this scene comes before the meeting against the Clippers. In the meantime, he thought long and hard: “I was worried about having thoughts I’m not supposed to have,” he confides in Chicago Grandstand. “When you get to that point of dejection, what happens next? »
Like so many other athletes before him, Drummond cannot put his problem into words. He almost feels guilty for feeling bad about himself when he’s in a dream situation, being a very well paid NBA player.
“I’m fucking Andre Drummond, I can’t be sad. I don’t know if it’s fear, but I didn’t want to sound soft. I’m too big and important to ask for help. But there were times when, when I walked past a mirror, I looked at myself and didn’t know what I was seeing. I was just a shell, I felt like a robot. I walked without feeling anything, being insensitive. I train, I go home, I train, and we start again. I had come to a point where I no longer felt like who I was. »
However, with DeMar DeRozan in the workforce, the former Detroit had the perfect listener to tell his problems. The back was, with Kevin Love, one of the first players to put the issue of mental health in the NBA in the public arena. Drummond got closer to him, the two had moments of complicity, but the pivot never openly told his teammate what he felt. “Little by little, I felt that I was calling for help. But I didn’t know how to ask for help. »
“Now that I’ve been through this, I know it makes you stronger to be able to say what you feel”
Then this March 27 in Los Angeles arrived. As Drummond can’t formulate the beginning of a conversation, the psychologist Borlabi then asks him if he needs to talk. This is where everything changes.
“Emotions are on the rise. I did not understand what was going on inside me. It was a new feeling that I allowed myself. Normally, I repress it, smother it and everything is fine. I allowed myself to feel this for the first time in a very long time. I was moved, I had to say something to someone. »
The Chicago player has thus started therapy, despite his reluctance at the start, for three weeks. He immediately understood the benefit he could derive from these sessions with Wendy Borlabi.
“You don’t realize that therapy isn’t about giving you the right answer. It’s about hearing what you say. It’s about understanding and articulating what’s coming out of your mouth because those are things you think, but don’t say out loud. When you physically hear what you’re saying out loud, you’re like, ‘Damn, I need to do this more often. We feel relieved of a weight. »
Although this is only the beginning of his healing process, the first effects are felt in Andre Drummond. “Talking to a psychologist regularly is good,” he concludes. “I still have a long way to go but the process has started. I’m starting to change little by little, to get back to basics, to rekindle friendships that I lost over time, that I left behind while I lost myself as a person. There are so many moments where I felt that, but I decided to ignore them, to push them away. Now that I’ve been through this, I know it makes you stronger to be able to say what you feel. »
| Andre Drummond | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2012-13 | TED | 60 | 21 | 60.8 | 50.0 | 37.1 | 2.8 | 4.8 | 7.6 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 7.9 |
| 2013-14 | TED | 81 | 32 | 62.3 | 0.0 | 41.8 | 5.4 | 7.8 | 13.2 | 0.4 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 13.5 |
| 2014-15 | TED | 82 | 31 | 51.4 | 0.0 | 38.9 | 5.3 | 8.1 | 13.5 | 0.7 | 3.5 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 13.8 |
| 2015-16 | TED | 81 | 33 | 52.1 | 33.3 | 35.5 | 4.9 | 9.9 | 14.8 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 16.2 |
| 2016-17 | TED | 81 | 30 | 53.0 | 28.6 | 38.6 | 4.3 | 9.5 | 13.8 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 13.6 |
| 2017-18 | TED | 78 | 34 | 52.9 | 0.0 | 60.5 | 5.1 | 10.9 | 16.0 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 15.0 |
| 2018-19 | TED | 79 | 34 | 53.3 | 13.2 | 59.0 | 5.4 | 10.2 | 15.6 | 1.4 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 17.3 |
| 2019-20 * | All Teams | 57 | 33 | 53.3 | 14.3 | 57.5 | 4.4 | 10.8 | 15.2 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 3.6 | 1.6 | 17.7 |
| 2019-20 * | TED | 49 | 34 | 53.0 | 4.8 | 58.4 | 4.6 | 11.2 | 15.8 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 17.8 |
| 2019-20 * | KEY | 8 | 28 | 55.2 | 28.6 | 51.3 | 3.0 | 8.1 | 11.1 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 17.5 |
| 2020-21 * | All Teams | 46 | 27 | 49.3 | 0.0 | 60.0 | 3.6 | 8.4 | 12.0 | 2.0 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 14.9 |
| 2020-21 * | KEY | 25 | 29 | 47.4 | 0.0 | 59.7 | 4.0 | 9.4 | 13.5 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 17.5 |
| 2020-21 * | ALL | 21 | 25 | 53.1 | 0.0 | 60.5 | 3.1 | 7.1 | 10.2 | 1.4 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 11.9 |
| 2021-22 * | All Teams | 73 | 20 | 57.0 | 0.0 | 52.4 | 3.1 | 6.2 | 9.3 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 8.0 |
| 2021-22 * | PHL | 49 | 18 | 53.8 | 0.0 | 51.2 | 2.8 | 6.1 | 8.8 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 6.1 |
| 2021-22 * | BRK | 24 | 22 | 61.0 | 0.0 | 53.7 | 3.9 | 6.4 | 10.3 | 1.4 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 11.8 |
| 2022-23 | CHI | 67 | 13 | 60.6 | 0.0 | 53.6 | 2.1 | 4.6 | 6.6 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 6.0 |
| Total | 785 | 28 | 54.2 | 12.8 | 47.5 | 4.3 | 8.4 | 12.7 | 1.3 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 13.2 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
