Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington says living with OCD has shaped the way he approaches both basketball and everyday life, and in his case, the diagnosis has become more of a tool than a burden.
Carrington said he sees benefits in the way his mind works. “I think it helps me be a better person.
In my opinion, I think I’m naturally more organized. My aunt has it as well, so I can just see the difference in how we operate in life or how my mom or my sister would.
I think we’re just a little bit cleaner.”
OCD, or obsessive compulsive disorder, is described as a mental health disorder marked by intrusive thoughts - called “obsessions” - and repeated actions or behaviors used to ease the anxiety those thoughts create, known as “compulsions.” It’s often flattened into the idea of being a “neat freak,” but Carrington’s comments point to something much deeper.
For him, structure seems to be where the diagnosis becomes an advantage. The NBA’s packed schedule fits the way he thinks, he said, because order and repetition already feel natural.
“I think when it comes to having things in a day, like having schedules like the NBA or you have a packed schedule, you have to be here, here, and here at this time, this time, and this time. I think my brain helps me with that.
Like, those days aren’t a lot to me. That’s how a day should be.”
He also connected it to his work in the gym. “In my opinion, in basketball, I’ve got to work out.
I can’t walk out of the gym if I didn’t make X amount of shots in X amount of ways, and stuff like that. I think it helps me… I think if I didn’t have that, I maybe would be lazier, or I wouldn’t be as intentional or as good as I wanted to be as a basketball player.”
That same instinct can be useful when he’s focused on his own development, but Carrington acknowledged there are tougher parts of dealing with a disorder that can’t control everything around him. He said it has forced him to keep his perspective clear, especially in the middle of a losing situation.
“Yeah, man. It’s not easy,” Carrington claimed.
“Let’s say that. It really makes you put things into perspective.
It really makes you realize that OCD is just a disorder. Yeah.
But I’m here. I’m still a human being.
I still have morals. I still have things that I can put above myself.
And that’s my religion, my family, and my purpose. And I believe, like, when you’re dealing with what I was dealing with, which is being on a losing team and coming from winning situations, it’s hard, but it makes you put things into perspective.”
He added, “Like, I’m here to play basketball. I’m here to be the best person I can be to take care of my family and take care of my friends… Sometimes I might not get all the dopamine I want out of a day or something, but like I said, the main reasons are my religion and my family. So, it helps me kind of ground myself at least.”
Carrington’s ability to stay steady through that kind of mental strain looks like a mature response for a 21-year-old. Last season, he averaged 10.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game, though he described his time in the NBA as largely underwhelming after two seasons of the Wizards sitting near the bottom of the East.
Still, the tone around Washington has changed. With Anthony Davis and Trae Young leading the team, the Wizards have been framed as a dark horse in the East, and the roster also includes AJ Dybantsa, Kyshawn George, Alex Sarr, and Bilal Coulibaly. For Carrington, that could mean a little more satisfaction - and a little more of the daily balance his mind seems built for.
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