Justise Winslow was a college star and an NBA lottery pick. Then, he slipped into darkness. Now, he has not only escaped that darkness, but come out of it a better and more complete person:
because the Heat were enamored with his varied skill set as a 6-foot-6 forward. During his only season at Duke, Winslow averaged 12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists while starting all 39 games, a do-it-all contributor on the 2015 NCAA title team that also featured Jahlil Okafor, Quinn Cook andHe was the highest pick by the Heat since they selected Michael Beasley No. 2 in 2008, and 12 years after they took Dwyane Wade fifth in 2003.
“You come in the league at 19 and s— is good and s— is gravy,” Winslow said. “And then it goes south … and you gotta figure it out. It’s like asking a 19-year-old what they want to major in … they don’t know. I didn’t know myself at 19.” “Pfft,” Winslow exhaled. “In life. I’ve done things I’m not proud of in my personal life. Whether it’s upholding relationships, or doing my part in relationships, reaching out to family, or isolating myself …. I was just really hard on myself.”
The brothers had been close since they shared a bedroom as kids growing up in Houston, Justise occupying the top bunk and Josh the bottom. Justise’s first high school dunk as a freshman came on a lob pass from his senior brother. Davis, their mother, could brag that her boys never fought growing up.A year earlier, Josh had received that concerned phone call from Spoelstra, which heightened his awareness that Justise was fighting some demons.
Josh said they took breaks. “I would say, “Go get some water, I ain’t through with you.’ I like to think he felt me the next day.” “That fight told me I have to do some more soul-searching and look at myself in the mirror. As much as it was physical, it was emotional, and like about healing and traumas,” Justise said. “It brought me and my brother even closer, and shook things enough to kind of spiral us in the right direction.”Winslow said a physical and mental exercise with surf legend Laird Hamilton and Spoelstra left him a changed man. “Oh yeah. We f— clashed. We bumped heads for sure,” Winslow said.
Still, they weren’t connecting. Winslow might have been listening to his coach talk about being selfless and giving, but the words weren’t resonating. Hamilton also had them do a series of breathing exercises, as well as going from a sauna to a cold pool. A day they’ll never forget. In the summer of 2019, Winslow adopted a near-daily ritual where he would awake before dawn and capture the day’s sunrise with his camera. There were layers to the meaning behind the exercise. To wake at 5 a.m., he had to cut out his nightlife. Taking pictures of the sunrises addressed the “healthy hobby” with which his brother challenged him. And to begin healing some of his damaged relationships, he began inviting those close to him to take part in the sunrise.
It was in that state of mind that he finally approached healing two of his most important relationships: his mother and girlfriend. “And I just kind of watched him break down. It was nothing I really said other than I loved him, continuously, and that everything was going to be all right,” Davis said. “I think that was the start of the breaking point.”
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