Mental health is becoming increasingly important in the sports scene. Justise Winslow26-year-old forward for the Portland Trail Blazersbe honest with The Athletic about various episodes related to the alcoholthe women and the Bad times of his life in recent years.
The Oregon franchise has become the fourth team in eight seasons (Miami, Memphis, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland) for the ex of Duke. A talent that has not lived up to expectations, a star that has not been able to shine. Winslow’s career can be summed up in one roller coasterwhere the bad sports (and personal) moments pass over the good ones.
Justise’s path into “darkness” started small. He himself did not notice where she was at any time. “I made a home in the darkness”, commented the forward for The Athletic. “I did it comfortable for me”.
The injuries did not allow us to see the player who was expected to land in the best competition in the world, something that weighed him down physically and mentally. “I enjoyed the self pity”, he commented. “I became this outcast that he was going to stay down and he was going to stay in the hole”.
Winslow was part of the team that won the NCAA championship in Duke in 2015. He was the reference player with Jahlil Okaforwhich is currently in the Captains of Mexico City of the G-League, which has not met expectations either. They were also on that campus. Quinn CookNBA champion with the warriors Y Tyus Joneswho has positioned himself as one of the best substitute point guards in the nba in Memphis.
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The forward tried to mask his depression abusing the alcohol and using women. His nights were summed up in going from bar to bar, according to what the professional could tell. “I tried to find love in the wrong places, explained to the American media. He called himself an “energy vampire” as he tried to recover from the injuries in Miami. In Florida he had problems with the shoulder and the back. In Tennessee, with the hip.
locked in the Bad mood at a family and sports level, Winslow reported that his brother, Joshreceived a call by Erik SpoelstraHeat coach, stating that he “looked like he hadn’t shaved in weeks or left his room.”
He had a clash with Spoelstra at the same time as a fight with his brother on a beach of the Bahamas during this tour. Chosen in the draft through Miami in the 10th placeWinslow has made millions in the seasons he has been competing in the league.
His brother Josh He wanted to stop all this. “When I saw Justise like this, I knew that she was time to step up”. “I told him and he got defensive and aggressive,” the brother said.
His mental health has led him to go unnoticed by the public seven years later to shine in the university championship. The expectations They played a fundamental role in this fall.
“To be chosen so high, and to be this lottery pickthere was a lot of… I don’t want to say that I’m a savior nor anything compared to lebron either Zion and what they went through… but it was like, ‘This is the guy I Dwyane Wade I was going to pass the torch to him in Miami,” Winslow said. “So that was the expectationand I was fine with that.”
But, the injury to his right shoulder in his second season, completely sank him. “I was very selfish; I thought everyone was focused on me, especially when they took away my basketball”, he said in the interview. “I didn’t know how to fill myself up. It was then that much of the negativity and the darkness They started showing up.”
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“You arrive in the league at the age of 19 and it’s all great”added the Blazers forward. “Then it all goes down and you have to figure it out. It’s like asking a 19-year-old what he wants to major in. He does not know it. I didn’t know myself at 19″, he clarified.
His childhood was not ideal. lived with his mother after her parents divorced when she was 3 years. This event would be important in his adolescence, since his personality was transformed. “Some things from the past were revealed Y exposedthe whole family went through a lot,” he replied.
“I’ve done things that I’m not proud in my personal life. I have moved away from myself familyI have isolated myself... I was very hard on myself”, the 26-year-old opened up. “There were days that I didn’t want to get out of bed, to which you add to drinkthe parties and all that… I went to a very dangerous road. I created a routine and it almost devoured me, ”said the former Duke.
a discussion with spoelstra During his time in Miami, it meant a change of chip. Winslow has since changed. The summer 2019 made the change. The forward got into the habit of waking up at 5 am to be awake before dawn and capture it with photographs.
The definitive turn towards his new and converted life came on November 14, 2021 when Nikotheir son, was born in The Angels during his time with the Clippers. “I can say that he is happier because smile more”, declared the mother of the player. “Niko has taken the light out of him (Winslow), it is a version totally different”, he commented Christina Escobarhis wife.
Currently, the Blazers forward is averaging 6.8 points, 5 rebounds and 3.4 assists for the team chauncey billups. Winslow has rediscovered basketball and himself after a period in the dark.
