Michael Carter-Williams asked for help with mental health. Now he’s providing tools for others.

Carter-Williams, who turned 33 Thursday, is retired after playing parts of nine seasons in the NBA, including that Rookie of the Year with the 76ers. He has helped develop an app called NDUR for athletes, which offers mental health tips and resources to student-athletes, providing options to deal with issues such as anxiety, depression, and anger.

He is also working with the Boston Public Schools to conduct seminars for athletes. It’s become his crusade.

“I needed to get my mind right and I didn’t know what was going on,” Carter-Williams said about his revelation in 2019. “I didn’t know too much about anxiety. I didn’t know too much about depression. It was something I needed to look outside my normal bubble and get some help. And when I got help, I started to see those stretches of anxiety in other people and some of my teammates, and I would talk to them, ask them if everything is going OK off the court. My teammates would open up to me and we’d have real conversations, something that really lasts.”

Carter-Williams decided a few years ago to go public with his mental health struggles and recovery.

“And by the time I retired, I wanted to put my story out there,” he said. “I feel like a lot of times people judge athletes off their performance on the court and that determines whether they are a good person or whether they like them or not. I wanted to share my story that people go through a lot of mental illness and I think people need to know about it. And I felt like if I shared my story other athletes would feel comfortable coming out and either getting help or sharing their story, as well.”

People other than athletes reached out to Carter-Williams and said they related to his story and experienced the same issues. A week after his fiancée left, Carter-Williams was traded to the Bulls and then immediately released. He admits he was using drugs and alcohol to deaden the pain.

“I was really low,” he said. “I didn’t leave my bed for days. Kind of really didn’t know what to do in my life, which direction to go. I was looking for any kind of help I could get. Never been released on a team before and then going through my fiancée and the baby, that was a really, really rough time for me and I knew at that point I am not right mentally. I was using certain things I shouldn’t have been using. I didn’t recognize myself.”

Acknowledging he had a problem was difficult. Carter-Williams beat long odds to reach the NBA. He earned $23 million in his career. He was still a serviceable backup guard. What could be wrong?

“It was hard because as an professional athlete, comparatively, life is, I wouldn’t say easier but smoother,” he said. “I was a McDonald’s All-American, I went to a Division 1 college, I spent two years there and I went to the NBA and I’m making all this money, living a dream, and I’m looked at as a person of a certain stature. It was hard to feel those emotions and be like, right now it seems I’m not who I was my whole life.”

Carter-Williams’s first step was hiring a therapist and a psychiatrist, and he began to find answers to his issues, as well was coping mechanisms.

“I was having anxiety attacks at the time, so I was in pretty bad shape,” he said. “Feeling when those attacks are coming, what are the techniques that I’m going to use for the rest of my life? Just finding different [ways] in my life to live a healthy lifestyle and make sure my mind was right was the biggest key.”

After Houston, Carter-Williams played parts of four seasons with Orlando. He finished his career on his own terms, mentally healthier, a devoted family man, and at peace with himself.

“The biggest thing for me was to get myself right and find changes in myself,” he said. “I think the people around me could see that and that led me to get a second chance with people in my life. That was the biggest thing for me. I know I could change myself and really get right mentally and show people what my values are and live that life. Ultimately that was the factor for me trying to fix everything. The more you’re right in your mind, the better off you’re going to be.”

GOING FOR IT

The Knicks were already entering this season having acquired swingman Mikal Bridges and re-signed OG Anunoby with the express purpose of defending Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Then they pulled off the biggest deal of the offseason, acquiring four-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns from the Timberwolves for Donte DiVincenzo, Julius Randle, and a first-round pick.

The Knicks have had interest in Towns for years and felt acquiring him put them on the same level as the Celtics. With his ability to post up and shoot the three, Towns gives the Knicks a Kristaps Porzingis-type along with All-Star Jalen Brunson running the pick-and-roll.

There are concerns. As much as Towns was a proven commodity with the Timberwolves, he’s never faced this much pressure. And with center Mitchell Robinson out for at least three months, Towns will have to increase his workload in the paint.

New York coach Tom Thibodeau coached Towns for 2½ seasons in Minnesota and the results were mixed. The Timberwolves made one playoff appearance and were ousted in the first round. There were rumors about dissension between Thibodeau and Towns. But the two revealed they have kept in touch and the respect is healthy.

“I think [playing for him] gives us a little bit of a head start,” Towns said. “I know the offense he runs, I know the way he likes to play defense. I know what he expects from his players. I just focused on playing basketball and let all the outside noise be just that. We’ve got great players and if we continue to put the work in to be the best versions of ourselves, we’ll be in the position we want to be.”

Towns led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference finals last season before losing to the Mavericks. Conference finals is likely the minimum expected with a talented Knicks roster.

“To get to a position like that starts now,” Towns said. “It’s not in the middle of the season. When I was with Thibs, I learned a lot, building great habits. Over time you learn a lot about each other and mature. I think our relationship has been good. For us, we just want to win. Our conversations are all about winning.”

The Knicks sacrificed two core players to get Towns. Randle was one of their more physical players and an All-Star. DiVincenzo was their leading 3-point shooter and reliable closer.

“Julius and Donte added to our team,” Thibodeau said. “We had a need obviously at the center position. That was really the driving force behind it. It was a tough decision to make but one we felt like we had to make. Most teams have one big that can play away from the basket, so it’s five out. But to have a guy who can not only shoot the three but put it on the floor and also play back to the basket, he does it all. He’s a very difficult guy to switch against because he can take a small guy into the post.”

After leaving Minnesota, Thibodeau took a year off before being hired by New York in 2020. He’s led the club to consecutive conference semifinals. He’s a different coach than the one who perhaps grated on players in Minnesota.

“There’s some benefit to have coached [Towns] and know who he is as a person,” Thibodeau said. “You have to understand that was more than five years ago, so he’s in a different place. He’s a different player, so there’s going to be a learning curve. We have to adjust quickly. And I like the versatility of our wings. I think that’s unique, having OG, Mikal, Josh [Hart], that allows us to do some things I like. I think we have a number of weapons.”

ETC.

As the WNBA moves toward the next frontier — three teams coming in over the next two seasons, and the eventual arrival of Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins — the league is emerging as the fifth major sport, along with the NBA, NHL, MLB, and NFL.

But for that to actually occur, the WNBA has to deal with some issues, such as players feeling the league hasn’t protected them adequately from social media abuse, misogyny, and racism. While the emergence of Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark has brought on a new and sometimes critical fan base, along with millions of true fans and admirers, the WNBA will have to devise ways to manage some of the negative aspects arising from its growth.

A few weeks ago, commissioner Cathy Engelbert disappointed many players when she didn’t strongly voice her displeasure over the increased racism and misogyny from a segment of fans, saying rivalries such as the Chicago Sky-Fever (Clark against former college rival Angel Reese) were good for the league. She addressed the issue again this past week prior to Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.

“First of all, there’s no place in sports for this,” she said about attacks on social media. “Just continue to condemn it, continue to be a voice on this. Also, I think we have been already meeting with some technology providers. I think there are some technology solutions out there that we could deploy and employ. Of course, we want to meet with the players and see what they want to do around that.

“It just is something where we have to continue to be a voice for this, a voice against it, condemning it, and making sure that we find every opportunity to support our players, who have been dealing with this for much longer than this year, by the way. I think Sue Bird said that the other day very eloquently. We need to continue to see how we can support the mental health resources, physical security, cybersecurity.”

Meanwhile, with the firings of Teresa Weatherspoon in Chicago and Tanisha Wright in Atlanta, there is just one Black head coach in the 12-team league, Seattle’s Noelle Quinn.

Engelbert defended the league’s diversity history and approach.

“We talk with our owners all the time about diversity in the coaching ranks, in their front office, back office, etc.,” Engelbert said. “You see every year we score very well in our report on that. We have a lot of assistant coaches that have been previous WNBA players and represent a very diverse group, as well. We have all of our owners partnering with minority-owned businesses.

“We’re looking at it from all these angles, partnerships, ranks of our employee base, and certainly the coaching diversity and coaching, as well. So, it is important to us. There’s not a board of governors meeting that we don’t talk about this. We’ve made enormous progress, especially in the assistant coaching ranks with former WNBA players by essentially focusing on this over the last couple years. Made enormous progress, which is why our report card is really good.”

Finally, the WNBA is likely going to add a 16th team after Golden State, Toronto, and Portland join in the next two years. After a stretch several years ago when WNBA teams such as Detroit and San Antonio folded, there is high interest from several cities about being home to an expansion club, a testament to the league’s growth.

“The good news is we have a lot of demand from many cities,” Engelbert said. “I’d say 10 or so, maybe even plus at this point, because I think more people are watching the WNBA and seeing what we’re growing here, and seeing these players and the product on the court, more people are interested in having it in their cities. They see the economic impact of having a WNBA team in their city, the role model in the community these players represent.

“So, I’ve said Philly is on the list. Now that we have the three teams, two in ‘26, one next year, we’re not in a huge rush. We’d like to bring it in in ‘27 or no later than ‘28. So I’d say there’s 10 to 12 cities that are very viable that we’re evaluating, and we have a process.

“It’s all the same types of things I’ve been talking about for the other three around arena, practice facility, player experience, committed long-term ownership group, city, demographics, psychographics, Fortune 500 companies based there. All the things we’ve been looking at in all of our cities and our data analysis.”

The Mavericks will be without a key piece off their bench as point guard Dante Exum is expected to miss three months following wrist surgery. Exum emerged as a helpful reserve for coach Jason Kidd but has been injured often over the years. The Mavericks retooled their bench in the offseason by adding Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes. They also added journeyman Spencer Dinwiddie to back up Luka Doncic . . . The Lakers made history this past week by pairing LeBron James and son Bronny James during a preseason game against the Timberwolves, the first father-son duo to play together in the NBA. The question for the Lakers is how much Bronny James, the 55th overall pick, will play with the NBA team. He’s signed to a standard deal, negotiated by agent Rich Paul. The consensus among NBA executives is Bronny James needs to sharpen his skills in the G League and shouldn’t spend considerable time with the main club as a rookie. One of the plans suggested is to play father and son together early in the season to end the novelty and anticipation, so the club then can concentrate on what is a critical season . . . The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has named Julius Erving as vice chairman of the board. Erving also will serve as a presenter for Vince Carter during Sunday’s induction. Tracy McGrady, Carter’s cousin and former Raptors teammate, will also serve as a presenter. There will be a Lakers feel in Springfield with former Defensive Player of the Year Michael Cooper being inducted and presented by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Pat Riley, and Lisa Leslie. Jerry West, who died in June and is already inducted as a player, will be inducted as contributor. He will be presented by Cooper, Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, Worthy, Riley, Bob McAdoo, Jamaal Wilkes, Shaquille O’Neal, Vlade Divac, Del Harris, and Pau Gasol . . . Walter Davis, who died last November, will be presented by McAdoo, David Thompson, Jerry Colangelo, Roy Williams, Charlie Scott, and Bobby Jones . . . This year’s WNBA playoffs ratings on ESPN were 142 percent higher than in 2023. It was the most-viewed postseason on ESPN since the league’s inaugural season in 1997. The WNBA semifinals, which did not include Caitlin Clark, were viewed by 99 percent more fans than in 2023.

Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.