“I was out of life”
Basketball professional reveals depression
07/21/2025 – 6:40 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Basketball professional Kevin Yebo speaks openly about his burnout at FC Bayern. The Niners-Star impressively describes how depression tore him from life-and what helped him back back.
Kevin Yebo surprisingly returned to the Niners Chemnitz in February – now the basketball professional speaks openly about the reasons for this step for the first time. In a video of his former streetball team “The tribe”, the 28-year-old describes how a burnout threw him out of the train at Bayern basketball during his time.
In the clip, which addresses his situation in autumn 2024, Yebo says: “I was not in training for the last two weeks because I was completely down. I was out of training, I was out of life. I didn’t do anything and was only in bed. I was depressed.”
Yebo switched to Munich in Chemnitz in the summer of 2024 after two strong seasons. There he met more competition, higher pressure to perform – and had to cope with a personal loss. The death of his mother caused memories of a stressful childhood. What had once given was a burden. Basketball, formerly a protective shield, lost its positive influence.
In conversation with “Sport Bild”, Yebo later emphasized that the return to Chemnitz was not a step back for him – but on the contrary: “For other people, the change is a step backwards, for me it is a total progress.” The club and his family gave him hold in this phase. Bayern also supported him in the difficult time. His contract was terminated by mutual agreement.
Back in Chemnitz, Yebo found again. In his old apartment, in the familiar environment, he gave new strength – and today takes stock: “I broke myself so broken because I was this basketball player because I wanted to be better, better and better.
The words in the video come across a lot of response. Many fans show respect for his openness on Instagram. His partner, the Niners team and friends, celebrate his strength.
Preparation for the new season starts in a few days. Chemnitz will first compete in the Eurocup – a new chapter for Yebo who has learned to listen to his interior.