In an interview with HoopsHype, Los Angeles Clippers star Norman Powell admitted that he considered quitting the sport of basketball on more than one occasion and opened up on the mental health problems that he’s endured. He also shouted out Miami Heat big man Kevin Love when mentioning NBA players who have publicly spoken about their mental health issues.
“I thought about quitting basketball a few times,” Powell said. “I don’t think people really get to hear the dark moments that you go through. I’ve talked about being at the forefront of mental health, and guys like Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan talk about how important it is. People don’t really get to see that side of things. They hear about the work, your accolades, and your successes, but behind the scenes, the struggles and things that you go through on a daily basis, like dealing with depression and having doubts. I think a lot of people don’t know that I thought about quitting basketball a few times on this journey. I’ve dealt with different heartaches and hardships personally with my family while pursuing the dream. You have goals in mind you want to accomplish, and when things don’t go your way multiple times, you feel like the world is against you and it might not be cut out for you. That’s something that a lot of people don’t know. I thought about stopping this and changing my profession.”
Love was quick to come to the support of former Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kyle Singler when he uploaded some disturbing videos to his personal Instagram account back in November. Singler was seemingly dealing with some mental health issues of his own, as he stated in one of the videos uploaded to Instagram that he frequently is afraid for his life.
The 36-year-old left a comment on one of Singler’s videos and also encouraged people to show him love and compassion on X.
Fortunately, Powell hasn’t quit basketball, as he’s currently one of the Clippers’ most effective offensive players. With Kawhi Leonard still sidelined, Los Angeles has called on Powell to be an aggressive scorer, and it’s safe to claim that he’s made the most of his additional touches on offense.
Powell is torching defenses for a career-high 23.9 points per game across 17 contests so far in the 2024-25 season, his fourth as a member of the Clippers. Before this season, Powell spent much of his time with Los Angeles in a bench role, as he started just 11 of the 136 contests he played in with the team in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns.
What might be equally impressive as Powell’s scoring average so far is the accuracy with which he’s put the ball through the bottom of the net. At this juncture, he’s posting career-highs in field-goal percentage (50.5 percent) and 3-point percentage (50.7 percent). His 3-point percentage also ranks second in the NBA among all qualified players behind only Taurean Prince.
Powell’s first opportunity of the season to face off against Love and the Heat will be on Jan. 13 in what will also be a home game for the Clippers at Intuit Dome. The two teams will then do battle for the second and final time of the campaign on March 12.