Carrying the burden of being a franchise cornerstone is extremely difficult. Doing so while welcoming two children in two years is another layer of tough.

Washington Wizards shooting guard, Bradley Beal, was the 11th player in NBA history to average 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists last season - the only player in franchise history. While the on-court success featured scoring in bunches and all-around production, what fans didn’t see was the internal struggles Beal had during the offseason.

“For the last two seasons I’ve suffered from Couvade Syndrome,” Beal told NBC Sports Washington as part of the Headstrong series. “Also called sympathetic pregnancy. A proposed condition in which a partner experiences the same symptoms and behavior as the expectant mother.:

Beal said he dealt with many of the same symptoms that his partner, Kamiah Adams, had during her pregnancy.

“The biggest one I noticed was my weight. I gained about 12-15 pounds,” Beal said. “Coach [Scott] Brooks used to make fun of me and say my uniform was fitting a little tighter, and not in a good way.”

“I was up at 3, 4 o clock in the morning eating ice cream when I shouldn’t have been eating ice cream,” Beal continued. “That’s all because momma was pregnant and I had the exact same symptoms. I was craving stuff that I never had the desire to eat before.”

Six weeks after the birth of Bradley Beal II, Brad and Adams were pregnant with their second child, Braylon Beal. Although the symptoms oftentimes left Beal mentally, physically and emotionally drained, he wouldn’t trade the blessing of two sons for anything in this world.

“I love my kids to death. I honestly never thought you could love anything as much as your kids,” Beal said.

“I love my boys, I love my wife, I love my life.”