Alex Abrines finally addresses the mystery surrounding why he left the OKC Thunder
By Alex Mcewen
What happened to OKC Thunder guard Alex Abrines? The Spaniard stepped away from the game due to mental health, but now he is back and eager to return.
The bizarre situation surrounding former OKC Thunder guard Alex Abrines, finally has a proper ending, to the peculiar storyline. On July 3, 2019; Abrines uploaded a two-part video to his Instagram account, the video detailed why he walked away from the game.
The entire video was in Spanish, Abrines served as the narrator. So it would be clear; to observers, captions were provided near the bottom of the screen. The short was titled Querido Balón, which translates to Dear Ball. Below is a transcript from the IG video:
"“Dear friend, what a mess! So much time spent together and now you do this to me. We’ve known each other since I did not know how to walk. Years and years of indestructible friendship until a few months ago when everything broke into a thousand pieces just because you started to frighten me.I couldn’t even see you. I even got to hate you. To be with you was little less than an obligation. I avoided you in the slightest chance. I just wanted to run away from you and everything around you. I spent a lot of time telling myself that all this could not be truth. It didn’t make sense. It had to go back to what it was. That’s why I asked for help to my own people and used the best professionals to mend the happiness that I felt every time we were together.”"
Transcript provided by Yahoo Sports.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzc5EE7Dmkg/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
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It took a lot of bravery for Abrines to share his battle with mental health, but he was not the first Thunder player to publicly discuss mental health. Former forward, Josh Huestis; detailed his mental health journey on his personal blog and he also opened up to The Undefeated in May 2018.
Metal health awareness has been sweeping across the NBA, with former Raptor and current Spurs guard, DeMar DeRozan and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kevin Love leading the way. During National Mental Health Awareness in May, the NBA even provided free counseling to all of their fans.
Timeline of Events
The final meaningful game Abrines played for the OKC Thunder took place on December 23, 2019, versus the Timberwolves, he played 27 minutes. Alex missed the next 17 contests, before returning to the lineup near the end of January. After playing in two games, Abrines never played for the franchise again, and he was waived a few weeks later.
In a surprising turn of events, Abrines surrendered nearly all of his remaining salary. During his exit interview, Sam Presti; expressed disappoint surrounding Abrines because the GM saw such potential in Alex.
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Abrines is in a better place mentally, and he is ready to return to basketball. Many pundits believe he will resume playing in the Euro League. Whether, he dons a jersey in the Euro League, G League, or even the NBA, Thunder Nation will continue rooting the for the Spaniard Sniper.