Carmelo Anthony on Why Athletes Are ‘Naturally’ Depressed

*Carmelo Anthony, a 10-time NBA All-Star, 37, is speaking out about depression that many professional athletes deal with.

Anthony hit up “The Drew Barrymore Show” on Tuesday to discuss his new book, “Where Tomorrows Aren’t Promised: A Memoir of Survival and Hope,” released on Sept. 14.

“I think athletes, like, we’re naturally depressed being an athlete,” he told Drew Barrymore, as reported by PEOPLE. “I mean, what we have to go through on a day-to-day basis, dealing with media, competing at the highest level. We spend more time with our teammates than we do with our family during the year, so you miss holidays and so on and so forth. So it’s a lot of things that, you know, the average person [doesn’t] really understand that an athlete has to go through.”

“It wasn’t until I actually started writing the book and going through that process where I was able to kind of get the real, true meaning of, kind of, who I am and putting everything into perspective,” he continued.

READ MORE: Drama! Woman Says NBAer Carmelo Anthony Has Been Avoiding Their Premature Babies

Anthony previously dished with PEOPLE about writing his memoir, explaining, “I’ve never really wanted to tell this story. But I really thought that the time was now to really tell my part of the story, that most people don’t know.”

“You got to be vulnerable because you’re letting people into your world. If you’re not honest and vulnerable and appreciative at the same time, there’s no need to tell that story,” he added. “If you’re going to sugarcoat a lot of things, there’s no need to write a book or tell those stories. So I really had to humble myself and be like, ‘Okay, listen I’m taking the gloves off basically. And I’m just letting you into my world and then into my childhood.’ “

When asked why it was the right time for the book, Anthony said: “I wanted it to still be relevant,” he said when asked why it was the right time for the book. “I feel like I’m still the connected tissue to a lot of this generation and to the generation before. So I really felt like this time, like I had to do it right now. For me to still be able to touch different generations and still be relatable to different generations, younger and older, the time was perfect for it.”

Anthony will play out his 19th basketball season with the Los Angeles Lakers, per the report. 

We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!