Former two-time All-NBA point guard Stephon Marbury is no stranger to mental health struggles. The 6-foot-2 former star navigated some serious personal and professional adversity during the second half of his 13-year career in the league — especially while with his hometown New York Knicks — before ultimately reinventing himself as an All-Star and champion in the CBA abroad.
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Now-Minnesota Timberwolves star power forward Julius Randle recently opened up about his own mental health troubles while he was in New York from 2019-24. During his Knicks run, Randle emerged as a two-time All-NBA talent and a three-time All-Star while helping return the Knicks to frequent playoff appearances and respectability around the league.
A native of Coney Island, Brooklyn, Marbury recently weighed in on the pressures of playing in New York, one of the league's top media markets, while chatting with NBA insider Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson.
Randle's issues in New York
“Clearly we found out, you know, that he had some issues when he played in New York from the amount of pressure that was on him,” Marbury said, alluding to the revelatory interview Randle gave with Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic ahead of the season.
“You know how New York is, man. You’re under a different microscope,” Randle said. “So it’s like, you’re not just battling and trying to win. It seems like you’re battling a million different things.”
Randle was flipped to Minnesota as part of the Knicks' blockbuster trade to acquire five-time All-Star power forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns late into the 2024 offseason. After a slightly shaky start, the Timberwolves began to mesh at just the right time — and Randle proved to be a huge part of that, especially in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Minnesota marched all the way to the Western Conference for the second straight season, with Randle and Donte DiVincenzo in for Towns. This season, the Timberwolves look to be again be one of the best clubs in the West, alongside the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, the retooled Denver Nuggets, and the long-limbed Houston Rockets.
Marbury, who was played alongside Kevin Garnett during his own Timberwolves tenure decades ago, fell into a suicidal depression when he eventually played for his hometown Knicks, clashing mightily with head coach Larry Brown.
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“I think in Minnesota, you can see that he was free flowing,” Marbury said of Randle. “I think, you know, for a guy like that with that much talent. It’s always gonna come down to his mental.”
Last season, Randle missed out on what would have been a fourth All-Star appearance, but he still finished with an impressive stat line.
In 69 games last season, the 6-foot-8 Kentucky product averaged 18.7 points on .485/.344/.806 shooting splits, 7.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists — that's his lowest scoring output since his 2017-18 season with the Lakers thanks to a new role next to athletic shooting guard Anthony Edwards, but still nothing to sneeze at.
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