James Donaldson on Mental Health - A Maverick's Mission: My Story of Survival and Advocacy

People know me as a former NBA player. A center who played for the Dallas Mavericks, was named to the All-Star Game in 1988, and spent 14 years in the league. That part of my story is well-documented. But there is another part of my story — the part that came after the final buzzer — that I believe is the most important thing I have ever shared.

In 2015, I had life-saving emergency open-heart surgery. An aortic dissection. It knocked me out for two years. I couldn't function. The physical therapy business I had built over nearly 30 years in Seattle — the Donaldson Clinic — began to struggle and eventually closed its doors in 2018. I lost my house of 40 years to foreclosure. I went through a bankruptcy. A divorce. I spent every dollar of my NBA savings down to the last dime.

Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. And in the middle of all of it, I found myself in complete darkness — suicidal thoughts that lasted for about 12 months. I was right on the verge of throwing away the one thing I had left: my life.

How I Made It Through

I want to be honest about how I survived, because I think it matters. I didn't white-knuckle my way through it. I didn't tough it out alone. I went to my doctor for what I thought was a routine checkup, and he looked at me and said: 'After talking to you, I can see that you've got depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideations. We need to get you help.' That moment — someone naming what was happening to me — was the beginning of my recovery.

He connected me with a counselor. I pulled a small group of close friends around me — people who had known me for 40 or 50 years. Two of my old coaches, Lenny Wilkens and George Raveling, were there on either side of me, walking me through the darkest period of my life. I remember George telling me: 'Hey, James, I've known you since high school and you've worked so hard to get to where you are. I'm not going to let you throw it away now.'

I needed to hear that. Those friends called me two or three times a week — sometimes at two or three in the morning — just to check in, because I asked them to. It still took 12 months to get through it. But eventually, the darkness started lifting.

Why I Do This Work

I believe God allowed me to go through all of that so I could understand it from the inside — not from a textbook, but from lived experience. I'm a former athlete, a community leader, someone who was seen as a role model. And I nearly ended my own life. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.

That's why in 2019 I founded the Your Gift of Life Foundation. That's why I speak at middle schools and high schools across the country — telling my story, letting young people know they are not alone. After those assemblies, kids come up to me and say they are suicidal right now. Middle school kids. And I think: this is exactly why I do this.

Men, in particular, need to hear this message. We don't talk about these things. There is a stigma — an expectation that men don't cry, don't show emotion, don't ask for help. I want to change that. I've set up an online coaching consultation service specifically to talk to men, because dozens of men from across the country have reached out to me over the years — many of them former athletes — who have never talked to anyone about what they're going through. I want to be the person they can call.

Where I Am Now

I'll be honest with you: I'm still rebuilding. I don't own a home. I don't have a nest egg. I'm managing physical pain from those heart surgeries every day. There are still voids in my life. But I am here. I am doing this work. And every time someone tells me that my story helped them hold on — that is everything.

If you are going through something right now — if the darkness feels like it has no end — please know that it can lift. It lifted for me. Get to your doctor. Pull your people close. Ask them to check in on you. And if you need someone to talk to right now, call or text 988. The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You don't have to go through this alone.