As a player for 13 seasons and a head coach for over two decades, Doc Rivers knows through experience just how taxing it is to play heavy NBA minutes.
“Have you seen me walk? I walk like that because there was no load management,” the Sixers head coach joked at his introductory press conference. “I’m hoping that it’s better for all these guys. Because I do believe in the long run, it’ll keep them healthier longer and fresher longer — especially if you’re going to make a deep run, which I hope we do.”
This season, he’s had to play both veterans like Danny Green and Mike Scott and rookies like Tyrese Maxey over 40 minutes in some games, with the Sixers shorthanded due to the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols.
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“Danny Green is a thousand years old and he played 49 minutes,” Rivers said Tuesday after the Sixers’ overtime win over the Heat.
However, Rivers knows physical challenges aren’t the only aspect of health for a professional athlete or coach. He thinks meditation is a huge help and would like to see it be a more widespread practice.
“I think it puts you at a calm,” Rivers said in an interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Ashley Hall as part of NBC Sports’ HeadStrong initiative. “I think you think slower. It’s amazing how much energy it gives you. You mediate in the middle of the day, you feel stronger, more mentally alert for the rest of the day.
“It puts you in such a great place. I’m an advocate; I wish everyone did it. I think they should do it in schools for 10 minutes a day, do some meditation with our kids. I think it would help their brain power.”
NBA
One of Brand’s new co-workers, Sixers general manager Elton Brand, told Pommells he meditates for 20 minutes twice per day. Like Rivers, Brand understands well the physical toll of a long NBA career.
“Achilles, labrum, meniscus, fifth metatarsal,” Brand said last year at an NBPA retiree health screening hosted by the Sixers. “Playing in the league as long as I did, lot of injuries that I have to deal with. Still feel things, but being able to have great screenings and healthcare afforded to me really helps me cope with everything and feel great.”
Since retiring and becoming an executive, Brand has seen a shift in how the NBA and its players think about mental health.
“I think the league and the players are doing a great job allowing everyone to know that there’s no stigma attached,” Brand said to Pommells. “If you’re having an issue, it’s OK to talk to someone; you should talk to someone, and we have resources for you to talk to.
“I was in the league in the ‘90s and it’s like, oh, you have to be a tough guy, or you’re soft if you speak out or if you can’t deal with it. ‘What do you mean, you’re making all this money, how can you be depressed?’ But that stuff is real and these issues, with help, can be monitored. You can get help.”