Mikal Bridges Says Kendrick Lamar Helped Him Through 2022 Depression
Mikal Bridges said kendrick lamar’s “Count Me Out” helped pull him through a depression after the 2022 Western Conference Semifinals loss to Dallas. The New York Knicks player tied that recovery to Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, turning one song into part of his workout routine after a brutal Game 7.
Bridges and Dallas
“I was really depressed, bro,” Bridges said in an Instagram Live while talking about the track. He said he was “f***ing depressed, bro” after losing to Dallas in Game 7 of the 2022 Western Conference Semifinals while he was in Phoenix. That kind of admission lands differently in a league where players usually talk about recovery in physical terms.
Bridges said the album came out just as he was lifting — “bis and tris, ches” — and that it “got me through it.” He added, “I love this f***ing album, for real. I will never forget this album ever.” For anyone tracking how athletes manage pressure, that is more specific than a generic nod to a favorite record; it is a firsthand account of music becoming part of a post-loss routine.
Mr. Morale in 2022
Kendrick Lamar had already said in a 2022 interview with W Magazine that he seriously considered shelving Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. He said he made the album in its “rawest, truest form” and wanted it to be freeing for him, then added that he was happy it could push others toward openness and honesty.
That creates the sharpest part of Bridges’ story: the same album Lamar described as personal and difficult became, for Bridges, a tool for getting back to work after one of the season’s hardest losses. The overlap is why this is more than a celebrity music anecdote; it is a public example of how a specific track can attach itself to a specific moment of recovery.
What Bridges said
Bridges’ account also gives the clearest reason “Count Me Out” resonated. He did not describe the song as background noise. He described it as vital, and he linked it directly to a period when he was dealing with depression after the Dallas loss.
For readers, the practical takeaway is simple: Bridges put a name to the music that helped him reset, and he put a date and opponent to the loss that triggered the slump. That combination turns a passing comment into a concrete part of his career timeline, and it gives Lamar’s album another layer of business value as a piece of culture that kept reaching beyond its own release cycle.
