In an interview with Shams Charania on Monday, the new Philadelphia 76ers center Kai Jones shared his mental struggles and life difficulties that led to his exit from the Hornets.
"I didn’t want to die." – New Philadelphia 76ers C/F Kai Jones sits down with @Stadium: On coping with losses in his life, now receiving significant therapy, return to the NBA and more: pic.twitter.com/o0emOIIvG3
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 18, 2024
Jones said that his great-grandparents had passed away in May and July respectively, which pushed him into a bad mental state and resulted in the stress of being an NBA player.
The new 76ers center returns to the NBA after an ugly exit from the Charlotte Hornets, Jones signed a 10-day contract with the Sixers and played in two games for their G League affiliate.
Jones shared in the interview with Charania of The Athletic and Stadium,
"For me, it was just kind of pushing everybody away, so anybody who I felt like didn’t understand me, I was just pushing them all away. So, it made me feel isolated. In that isolation, you’re just dealing with the voices in your head, and you have to learn how to navigate those voices and calm yourself."
He also added on what happened between him and his former team, Hornets,
"I think I was trying to cancel out the negative voices in my head because, to be honest with you Shams, I didn’t want to die. That was one of the first people in my family I"ve seen die like that [from old age]… I"m like, ‘What? I don’t want to die. I want to live forever.’ I"m trying to pray super hard and the voices in your head are like, You know, you could die if you don’t lock in life. I think it was just a lot of confusion for me."
The former first-round pick has been associated with some of his unusual behavior. It began with a bizarre live stream on Instagram wherein the then-Charlotte Hornets center was speaking in what sounded like gibberish (video here). Jones also beefed with his Hornets teammates online and eventually asked to be traded.
The 23-year-old had revealed in the interview that he had dealt with the deaths of two of his great-grandparents, his "negative voices" impacting him mentally.
