Digital Social Hour
Larry Sanders II - Why So Many Athletes Stay Broken: Mental Injuries Nobody Talks About | DSH #1625
17 Nov 2025
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Because I think kids get the wrong message when they see it.
Chapter 2: What insights does Larry Sanders share about mental health in sports?
They think I've been doing it my whole life and, you know, and I don't believe in that. Once I got into the NBA and my second year in the league and pains for my body and not being able to eat and flying here and flying there, marijuana did become an aid. You know, it helped a lot, bro, so...
Chapter 3: How has marijuana use in the NBA evolved over the years?
All right, guys, Dr. Larry Sanders here. Someone taller than me. It doesn't happen often.
Chapter 4: What are the mental and physical challenges of traveling in the NBA?
6'9", man. 6'9". Yeah, it's only happened three times in 1,600 episodes. Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah, you're pretty tall, bro.
Chapter 5: How does therapy play a role in the wellness of young athletes?
Not bad, right? For an Asian? Yeah, yeah. You haven't seen too many Asians taller than me. No, not for real.
Chapter 6: What initiatives are former NBA players taking to address mental health globally?
You ready for poker tonight or what? Yeah, I'm ready. Yeah, you've been studying up on the game? Yes, sir. Let's get it, baby. I might have to put some money on you.
Chapter 7: How is branding important for student athletes in today's landscape?
Let's do it. Let's get it. You gamble a lot? I don't gamble a lot, but I like to play cards. You hooping a lot right now? Not so much, but I did hoop this year.
Chapter 8: What cultural shifts have occurred in the NBA regarding self-expression?
Hooped a little bit, yeah. How was it in Taiwan? It was cool. It was smooth, bro. Taiwan was dope. Played in the DR for a little bit this summer. Ended up hurting my wrist. So I was going to do some stuff with the Big 3, but they actually just called me up a couple days ago, but I couldn't. I'm still nursing this wrist, bro. Damn, you broke it? I sprained it. Damn.
Sometimes you wish you would have broke it because the sprain is like, you know, you don't have a cast and it's hard to heal. Yeah, sprain lingers, right? Yeah. Damn. Is that one of the worst injuries you've had? I don't get injured a lot, bro. The most I've had is the sprains. Spraying my ankle, spraying my wrist. That's it. No torn ACLs, no crazy stuff. You do a lot of preventative stuff?
Because that's impressive. I do. I stretch a lot. I'm real limber. I work on my stretch and my balance. It's something I do every day. Yeah, that's impressive. For playing as long as you have, then not have a major injury? That's like some bronze shit right there. Thankful, bro. Yeah, let's go. Is ball the main focus though? Are you thinking about other ventures? Where are you at right now?
Yeah, for sure. I mean, I've been retired now for like, man, since I was 26, I'm about to be 37. So last year was the first year of me playing overseas and like, you know, since I've been retired.
So I just been a serial entrepreneur since man, you know started artists incubator did some stuff in music with OVO custom records, bro, and Yeah, it's been fortunate enough to be in some good rooms, bro. Do my foundation stuff right now. I am Just came back from Grenada I'm doing a camp for some kids and I went to Egypt a few a few months ago as well. So I
Globally just trying to connect through basketball, but you know, my message is mental health Yeah, making sure God, you know these kids get the mental health resources they need As well as the you know, the basketball attention. Were you seeing kids in those countries struggle with mental health too? For sure. Really? They're more behind than we are.
They're just catching up to the fact that they're actually dealing with mental health issues. The stigma is very high overseas. We're more accepting over here in America, but they're dealing with it and they're more accepting to holistic resources and wellness. So it's dope. Do you see a lot of athletes struggle with mental health too? For sure. For sure, for sure.
You know, I feel like every physical injury ultimately equates to a mental injury. You know, that's how nerve endings, you know, they kind of end up in your brain, you know. So if you're not treating a physical injury with some kind of mental therapy, you're usually going to be like, you know, I hate to say it, but kind of like Derrick Rose, you know?
It's kind of tough for him to mentally get over things because there was no, I don't know how much attention was to the mental, you know? It was a lot of physical attention, so. That's great advice, man, because people don't even connect the two dots, right? They sprain an ankle and they don't associate that with a mental thing. Right. What about Ben Simmons too, right? Yeah, for sure, yeah.
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