The NBA is more than just a league - or better, "the" absolute basketball league. It is more than the ultimate place for professional basketballers. The ultimate spectacle for basketball fans. Or the ultimate sport for popular betting markets for punters, just as those offered in NBA betting in the Philippines.

The National Basketball Association is one of the sports' leagues that are damned serious about the importance of mental health and the significance of the good psychology of all basketball players. The NBA is the leading league when it comes to addressing mental healthcare.

In fact, there is a coordinated action designed to make sure that all NBA players have access to mental health professionals (psychologists or behavioural therapists), so that any problems are immediately dealt with and everyone can turn to counseling or therapy to solve potential issues, when these arise.

Mental health has come at the center of attention of NBA executives. Driven from a number of cases where NBA players have openly talked about their "demons" and their struggles, there has been a systematic approach to address mental health problems.

As of the 2019-20 season, all 30 teams are now required to incorporate and integrate a mental healthcare program in their functioning. They need to have at least one psychologist or therapist in their full time staff, a documented plan for dealing with mental health problems and a strategy for coping with players issues.

And of course, every basketball player has full access to professional help at any time and at any point.

Struggling with mental health issues is very common in NBA

Having mental health problems, dealing with bad psychology and generally being confronted with mental health issues is not new in the world of NBA. In fact, throughout the years there have been many cases where players had been dealing with related problems, despite the attention paid on the subject being more recent.

Keyon Dooling, Andre Drummond, Aaron Gordon, Kevin Love, Giannis Antetokounmpo are only some of the big star players who have talked about their struggles and have admitted that without any help they would not be able to cope with the increased stress, anxiety, pressure and so on. Notice that such problems have been dangerous for their entire career and have put at risk their overall professional well-being.

There are a number of reasons that make mental health issues common amongst NBA professional players. For one thing, it is the unthinkable pressure for performance combined with the excessive exposure of their personal lives.

Playing at the NBA means that you are under strong pressure to do well. Since the NBA is one of the most loved leagues across the world and basketball one of the most popular sports, players get to be excited and overwhelmed at the same time, but stressed for continuous growth and expansion of their career as well.

Further, being an NBA star means that you are constantly in the spotlight - what you do, who you go out with, what you eat, where you go, everything is scrutinized and your personal life goes public.

All these put enormous pressure on the basketball players, who on top of this are required to play in a league that has too much competition and in fact too much of everything.

The fact that the National Basketball Association has early on recognized the potential risks and the devastating effects of struggling with mental health issues on professional basketball players’ well-being and future career, is indeed a big step towards addressing more effectively and efficiently a problem that is plaguing the league. Addressing mental health and being able to provide support, consultation and of course professional help is very important in making the lives of players better and improving the overall conditions in the NBA as well.