Rashad McCants Dishes on Mental Health, Overreliance on Stats and His MVP Pick

Rashad McCants has stayed busy since the end of his playing days.

The former college basketball champion at North Carolina played four years in the NBA with the T-Wolves and Kings before finishing his career overseas.

He’s now a major player in the broadcasting arena and founded the MYNDSET app to help promote mental health.

McCants recently sat down with Basketball Insiders to talk about MYNDSET, why he believes the NBA community is too reliant on statistics, his MVP pick and more.

The answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Basketball Insiders: What’s the goal of the MYNDSET app, and what role do you have?

Rashad McCants: “Mental health, man. Mental resilience, mental strength. Helping athletes and others gain resilience in a world where we go through everyday struggles. (For those) that don’t have a lot of support, it’s offering different opportunities and access points to emotional support. Coaching, consultations, mentors. It’s something that can give people an added burst of intuition, innovation, things they can go out and do.”

BI: For athletes specifically, do you think you can be a good voice for them? Whether you’re talking about stress or pressure, there are a lot of things athletes have to deal with, and you’ve been through it.

RM: “It’s not about could I be. I am. Sh–, I was homeless for 10 years while juggling trying to take care of my family, make a name for myself, restore my name, fight the NCAA. I was doing a lot of different things while fighting depression, financial assassination. I was overcoming a whole bunch of different things, so I think the perspective for anybody should come from someone that’s actually been there. 

“That’s been my journey, to go down to the depths of the lowest points of where everybody can say, nobody is here, nobody understands. I’m one person that actually was there. I was in the fire and I’ve been burnt. And that’s why I wear the crown, because there is a prize at the end of the tunnel. You get to put on a crown and really stand on your own truth.”

BI: You probably didn’t imagine dropping to those depths. What was it like getting there, and then having the resilience to climb out of it?

RM: “It goes back to that cartoon with Bugs Bunny. You’ve got the red devil on one shoulder and the white angel on the other shoulder. Balancing both of those is understanding where to go, and why to go. I’ve been able to go both ways, and understand that the path still ends at the same destination.”

BI: I wanted to get your thoughts on some NBA topics. Where does Anthony Edwards stack up to you among the best young players in the game, now that LeBron, Steph, K.D. are getting older? Legit top-5 player?

RM: “Shai, Luka, Ant Edwards. I’m still trying to figure out why Anthony Davis is not up there. Joker. Greek. You’ve got a new guy like Wemby coming in. Şengün is playing well. There are a lot of guys. It’s not a cakewalk for guys to come in and say, ‘I’m me, and I should be considered.’ You have to actually go out and prove it. 

“And now that it’s a numbers-based game, it’s (about) numbers. It’s not really what it looks like, what the impact looks like. You can’t go in and have 21 a game and take your team all the way to the conference finals and be good. It’s like Donovan Mitchell. I think he had an NBA-type season, but because his numbers didn’t reflect that, we leave him off the board.”

BI: Are we too invested in numbers now? Do we discount things like gravity, where an Allen Iverson back in the day would make everyone else better because he grabbed the attention of all five defenders? 

RM: “100 percent. Look at Steph’s contribution now. He might not have the numbers that stick out, but he still has the impact on, like what you just said, those five guys having to pay attention to him every single play. And the fact that they (complemented) Steph with playmakers that could make you pay for that, it’s a detriment now (when analyzing individuals.) Guys like him, Greek. Greek is a guy that demands attention, but if you don’t have guys around him, that can make you pay, they call them empty stats now. 

“Go back to Trae Young. If you put Giannis with Trae Young, it’s a whole different discussion about Trae Young. You put him with Joker, it’s a whole different conversation. We’re becoming a really criticized-based community, but I think that’s OK, because now they have to rise to the occasion. I just don’t think it should be about stats.”

BI: If you try to pull out your crystal ball, who do you think will win MVP?

RM: “Based on the outlook right now, I’d say Luka. I want to put Wemby up there, to be honest. I think he’s going to have a breakout year. If I don’t go Luka or Wemby, I think Giannis is going to have one of those years. If they can make a run and not just stay in the 4-5 (seed) area but get up in that 2-3 area – those things play a part when you talk about MVP. I think Giannis has a chance, so I’ll put my darkhorse on Giannis or Wemby.”

BI: Provided he stays healthy, why are you convinced Wemby is in for a major breakout this season?

RM: “You look at Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox. Those two guys are going to open the floor for him, to have easy shots. When you look at his production and efficiency, his minutes will go up. His confidence will go up. I think he’s trained his body to stay away from the injury. He’s understanding what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went through. He’s been working with Hakeem Olajuwon, and Tim Duncan is his mentor.

“I think De’Aaron Fox is coming in with something to prove after his injury, and Stephon Castle coming back after winning Rookie of the Year. Everyone should be really honed in on taking advantage of using this unicorn as much as they can, the 7-foot-(5) guy that can shoot 3s and do everything. It’s going to be important for him to showcase it.”