Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova has been among the NBA fraternity applauding All-Star Kevin Love for opening up about his struggles with mental health.
The Cavaliers forward disclosed he had a panic attack during a game this season and he has spent most of his life afraid to accept something was wrong with him.
"For 29 years, I thought about mental health as someone else's problem," he said.
Former teammates Dellavedova and LeBron James backed the five-time All-Star, who helped the Cavs win the 2016 championship.
"Good stuff Kevin Love," the Australian posted on Twitter.
"You're even more powerful now than ever before @kevinlove!!! Salute and respect brother," James tweeted.
Love says he was under family stress and hadn't been sleeping well when he became stricken with anxiety during a home game against the Atlanta Hawks in November.
He said he was strangely winded in the opening minutes and later had trouble catching his breath and stopping his heart racing during a time-out in the third quarter.
"It's hard to describe but everything was spinning, like my brain was trying to climb out of my head," Love said.
Love was taken to the Cleveland Clinic but tests didn't reveal anything abnormal.
He returned to playing at a high level but was puzzled by what happened and burdened about people finding out.
Although he didn't mention it in his essay, "Everyone Is Going Through Something", on The Players' Tribune, Love left a January 20 game against Oklahoma City under similar circumstances.
He also missed the team's practice the following day.
Those absences prompted the now-infamous heated team meeting in which former teammate Isaiah Thomas and others questioned why Love had been excused.
Love said he drew courage to go public with his issues after Toronto All-Star DeMar DeRozan's acknowledged his bouts of depression.
Love said he would have never guessed one of the game's best players was having problems similar to his own.
"So if you're reading this and you're having a hard time, no matter how big or small it seems to you, I want to remind you that you're not weird or different for sharing what you're going through," he said.
"Just the opposite. It could be the most important thing you do. It was for me."
Australian readers seeking support and information about depression can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
