Sleepless Nights and Homesick Hearts in the NBA

Behind the multimillion-dollar contracts and game-time glory, four basketball pros open up about the private pitfalls of living out every kid’s playground fantasy.

Illustrations by Vinnie Neuberg

Scan the fondest memories of every basketball player in the National Basketball Association and you’ll see variations of the exact same scene: a bright-eyed youngster on a day with not a cloud in the sky, dressed in the latest athletic gear and dribbling a regulation basketball dramatically as the five seconds left on the imaginary shot clock in his head tick away.