“There is light at the end of the tunnel”: Jalen Suggs gets honest about how he unfurled his way to overcome mental health

On Friday night, the Orlando Magic escaped with a narrow 122-120 victory over the league's defending champions, the Denver Nuggets. Jalen Suggs was instrumental in helping his young team pull off the tight win.

He ended the night with a career-high 27 points with a highly efficient seven-made three-pointers on nine attempts. Overall, he was a reliable weapon on offense as he went 9-for-15 from the field despite only making half his free throw attempts (2-for-4).

Suggs' career-high was still instrumental in helping his team secure the two-point victory. As such, it was something that was talked about during the post-game press conference. While his huge game was being discussed with the media, the third-year guard also took the time to address his mental health.

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"I struggled a lot with mental health," Suggs said (h/t Fawzan Amer). "It's a battle I've constantly been working at day after day and you know I had a little dip for a couple of days and to be honest with fatigue and with the demand of the season, expectations and continually trying to get better and all that. I think a lot of it goes just to the work I've done spiritually and mentally."

Jalen Suggs also took the time to mention his family, whom he said has been supportive regardless of how he has played and also took the time to share some encouragement.

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"A lot of credit goes to my family, for always keeping me suppoted and loved no matter how the game goes," Suggs added. "Whether I have a great game or one of those Phoenix [Suns] and Golden State [Warriors] games where it's a bit of a struggle... To all the people struggling out there with that, there is light at the end of the tunnel."

Along with Suggs, last season's Rookie of the Year, Paolo Banchero, led the Magic to a victory with 32 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds.

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Jalen Suggs has shown a lot of improvement in his scoring this season

During his rookie year, Jalen Suggs scored 11.8 points per game on 36% shooting from the field and an abysmal 21% from behind the three-point arc. In his second year, he improved his shooting percentages to 41% from the field and 32% from the downtown. However, his scoring average dipped to only 9.9 points per game.

This year, Suggs has greatly improved his points per game averages and scoring efficiency. He has raised his average to 13.4 points per game while shooting a career-best 45% from the field and 39% from downtown.

If he continues to improve on offense, Jalen Suggs could become one of the best two-way players in the NBA, and he and Paolo Banchero could form an exciting, dynamic duo.

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