The plight of Jahlil Okafor brought him to the Brooklyn Nets last December with a fresh opportunity to resurrect a career that once seemed destined for greatness, but has ultimately fallen well short of expectations. That did not happen, but what he learned in Brooklyn may well go on to get him where he wants to be.



After being traded to the Nets, the 6-foot-11 center was met with a revelation worth far more to his mind, spirit and body than any additional playing time could. Within days of the trade, he sat down with a Nets staff member whom Okafor says helped him realize he might have been dealing with two issues he had never even considered: depression and anxiety.



“I didn’t know I was dealing with depression and anxiety myself,” Okafor told The Athletic. “When I was in Brooklyn after the Philly trade, I started to talk to somebody there. That was the first I heard about it. Then, during the season, I didn’t act on...