Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue has revealed that he's being treated for anxiety, which is part of the reason why he had to take some time away from the team earlier this season.
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Lue had been having chest pains and occasionally coughing up blood when he left the team in March, but has since been given proper medication to help alleviate the issues.
"I'm glad it wasn't anything serious," Lue told ESPN's Rachel Nichols in an exclusive interview. "Just anxiety, and the medication I'm on is great. No more chest pains, so everything's been great."
In addition to the medication, Lue says he hired a chef and switched up his diet, which also helped reduce some of the stress.
"I think for the first time in my career, 20 years, I had a chance to focus on me. It wasn't as bad as people thought it was. But I did have some chest pains for the last couple of years. And I was just trying to be able to get through it not knowing what was wrong with me," Lue told Nichols. "So the two weeks I took off, just finally had a chance to focus on myself and change my diet. Hired a chef. Stopped drinking as many Shirley Temples. And stopped with the sweets and got back to taking care of myself. Now I feel great."
Multiple players, including Toronto Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, opened up about their own experiences and mental health struggles during the season, which initiated discussions for the league's new mental health and wellness program.
Earlier this week, the National Basketball Players Association announced the launch of a mental health and wellness program for NBA players. According to USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt, Keyon Dooling, who has served as the NBPA Player Wellness Counselor since January, will be joined by a Director of Mental Health and Wellness as part of the new program.
