LeBron James got very personal on Instagram Monday when he posted a story that seemed to extol the virtues of therapy ― with a little help from rapper Kendrick Lamar.
In the now-expired post, the 40-year-old NBA superstar said therapy showed him “how to open up!” and added, “It also showed me I don’t give a F😤”
The caption is actually a Lamar line from a verse he did on the unreleased Clipse track “Chains & Whips”: “Therapy taught me how to open up/ It also showed me I don’t give a fuck.”
It’s possible that James meant to support Lamar and Clipse, which comprises Pusha T and No Malice.
GQ reported that Universal Music Group refused to release the track with Lamar’s feature out of concerns of offending Drake, who has had beef with Lamar and Pusha T. Drake is also suing UMG over its handling of Lamar’s Grammy-winning diss track, “Not Like Us,” which suggests the Canadian rapper is a pedophile.
However, since James’ follow-up post to the story showed him at a serene oceanfront golf course driving a golf cart and lining up putts, its also possible it was a sincere endorsement of therapy.
James has previously shown support for others who have been open about their mental health, such as in 2018, when his fellow Cleveland Cavalier teammate Kevin Love publicly revealed his own bouts with anxiety.
After Love revealed his mental health struggles, he told the “Today” show that James shook his hand while they were both on the team bus, and said, “You helped a lot of people today. It’s important.”
James’ wife, Savannah James, has also discussed her relationship to mental health, and said on her “Everybody’s Crazy” podcast last year that there have been times when she felt “so heavy and, like, icky” without knowing why.
She later figured out that those anxious feelings had their roots to when she and LeBron James were in high school and she had to deal with bullying from people who disapproved of the relationship.
LeBron James has yet to announce whether he will return to the Los Angeles Lakers for what People notes would be a league-record 23rd season.
