Why Are So Many NBA Players So Miserable?

Why are so many NBA players so damn unhappy? Listen, I understand that money doesn’t buy happiness, but the average NBA salary is expected to hit the $10,000,000 by next season. TEN. MILLION. They’re getting paid to play a game they grew up loving, they’re adored by kids all over the world, beautiful women everywhere are pursuing them, and their families will taken care of financially for generations if they’re smart with their money (which they often are not).

Yet we see guys like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving pout their way through press conferences, argue with random strangers on social media, and generally looking like they’re the most underappreciated, put-upon people on the face of the earth. And have you ever watched an NBA player walking into an arena? They’re normally walking with their heads down, eyes averted, headphones on, hood often up, appearing as if they’re walking into their own execution. I mean, how hard would it be to look people in the eye, smile, and nod a friendly hello?

The answer is not hard.

Even commissioner Adam Silver said of his league’s players, in a conversation with the Ringer’s Bill Simmons, that “A lot of these young men are generally unhappy.’’

Why?

Is it the isolation? The fear of trusting people? Not really knowing who your friends are? Reading what idiots are saying about you on Twitter?

Charles Barkley, for one, wasn’t buying Silver’s line about NBA players:

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard any commissioner say,” Charles said a few days later. “These guys are making twenty, thirty, forty million dollars a year. They work six, seven months a year. They travel in private jets. They stay in the best hotels in the world—they ain’t got no problems.”

I understand what Chuck is saying, but the fact is all those things don’t guarantee happiness. I read a study that said while happiness increases as people earn more money, it peaks at around $75,000 a year and doesn’t increase afterwards. I certainly get that.

Random thought: It seems like the bigger the star, the more unhappy the player. Think Durant, Irving, LeBron, and Anthony Davis.

It would be easy to make fun of these guys and point out that they’re just spoiled and lacking self-awareness, but the truth is depression and anxiety are not something to make fun of or shame. I know they’re real, believe me. I just wonder why it seems to be so prevalent among NBA players but doesn’t seem as prevalent among NFL, MLB or NHL players.

There has to be a reason, correct? So why are NBA players so unhappy?