It reminds me of Legend of Korra where after the fight with Zaheer, she struggled to recover both physically and mentally. Even after a full physical recovery, she still felt like she was never the same. It completely broke her.
Has there been an NBA superstar where after one play, he was never the same, both physically and mentally? I know injuries happen but I’m sure there are plays that just seem to kill their confidence for a long time.
Not exactly a play, but the day Chris Paul turned 38, his game disappeared. Hell you can probably narrow it down to his perfect game against the Pelicans.
That was sad to watch honestly
Harden stopped playing defense after he was elbowed in the face by Metta WP.
And AB went crazy after getting knocked the fuck out by Burfict
I’d argue it was after that Nigerian dude crossed him up
Kevin Huerter after the 3pt contest last year
Depends if you considered Ben Simmons a superstar at any point (you shouldnt, but he’s the closest answer to this question anyways)
Not a superstar, but Draymond Green after facing Kevin Hart.
Paul George was on track to being a top 5 player before his leg break
2019 was the best season of his career though
Derrick Rose
Albert Pujols broke Brad Lidge for a while
Also not a star, but Nick Anderson and those free throws
He was great the next season tho magic won 60 games
I feel like Melo lost his powers after getting met at the rim by Roy Hibbert in the playoffs
Not a superstar, but Nick Anderson seemed permanently shook after missing four straight free throws at the end of Game 1 of the 1995 finals.
Ben Simmons is the right answer
Hayward first one that comes to mind
Pre leg snap he was a springy do it all wing who played very confident and just came off a career year
After he came back he was never the same, still a very good player but never had that same athletic ability or energy to his game again
He’s had ankle problems ever since though, I don’t know if you could say that he was physically the same player after his injury.
“Superstar” is debatable but Ben Simmons would be the obvious answer.