With a surname that exemplifies the feeling of freedom, Javon Freeman-Liberty is free to go home after he parted ways with the Brisbane Bullets today. He appeared in two games. His averages of 19.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists all rank second-highest amongst his team.

Freeman-Liberty was easily one of the standout players who was introduced to the league this season. He is someone who has been on the cusp of NBA contention but never made that complete leap. I had him on my prediction for the All-NBL First Team this season despite whatever apprehensions people had about the Bullets’ chances of success. He is an extremely talented individual who was poised to star. Freeman-Liberty scored 17 points in his debut against the New Zealand Breakers and 21 against the Cairns Taipans. He then apparently sustained an injury which was to rule him out indefinitely and revealed in the announcement of his release as involving the hamstring.

There was unfortunately an accompanying feeling that gently bubbled under the surface during Freeman-Liberty’s stint which eventually found its way to rise. The Bullets were careful to word it in their press release about the parting: “Freeman-Liberty will return home to continue his recovery and focus on his mental wellbeing.”

Freeman-Liberty was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He started his collegiate career with Valparaiso in Indiana but chose to transfer after his sophomore season in 2020. His new home was to be situated in his old home as he joined DePaul in Chicago for the final two years of his eligibility. Freeman-Liberty started his professional career in a familiar environment too; he debuted with the Windy City Bulls of Chicago during the 2022–23 season. He earned his first NBA opportunity in a new country with the Toronto Raptors of Canada in 2023–24; fortunately, it is still only a two-hour flight between Chicago and Toronto. Freeman-Liberty signed with Manisa Basket of Türkiye in 2024 but was released after only two games. He re-joined the Windy City Bulls for the rest of the 2024–25 season. His signing in Australia was his second attempt overseas.

Nothing indicated any apprehension when Freeman-Liberty joined the Bullets. In his signing announcement, he shared that he was “excited to come to Brisbane and join a team that’s hungry for success” in “one of the toughest leagues in the world.”

It was on NBL Overtime’s episode published on 22 September that it was first brought to the fore. Felix Van Hofe mentioned the rumours of Freeman-Liberty’s being prone to homesickness as the reason that he left Manisa Basket prematurely and the possibility that he would experience it again in Brisbane. Peter Hooley confirmed Freeman-Liberty’s reputation through talks he had during the NBA Summer League where scouts described it as something they knew about and something that he has experienced throughout his professional career; perhaps hence the constant returns to his hometown as groundings. Hooley praised the Bullets for their handling of the situation as they knew about Freeman-Liberty’s feelings and wanted to help him acclimatise to his new surroundings as much as possible.

Two days later, Freeman-Liberty spoke on the rumours in an interview and effectively dismissed them. He said that “I’ve heard the talk, but I came to Brisbane to hoop, to win games with my teammates, and that’s exactly where my focus is.” He played against the Taipans two days after that statement and it was to become his final game. Freeman-Liberty was ruled out with what the Bullets described as an ankle injury for the team’s games against the Adelaide 36ers on 28 September. While the Bullets described the injuries to Sam McDaniel (ankle) and Mitch Norton (knee) in their preview of their game against the Tasmania JackJumpers on 4 October, Freeman-Liberty was apparently “on track to return” and expected to appear although he ultimately would not ever play for the Bullets again.

So, today was the first declaration that the distance had become too great and Freeman-Liberty needed to go home. It is unfortunate to lose someone of his calibre but mental health is the priority and there would be no other alternative for his situation. It is admirable that he tried again to overcome the homesickness after his previous overseas experience but hopefully this will be the indication to him that it is not worth going so far. It puts into perspective the real challenge that players have to go through when joining teams overseas which are often foreign in culture, people, language and environment — all of which get put to the side in handling when the main objective is to play basketball.

I wish Freeman-Liberty the best for his professional career and hope to see him get his confidence back with his hometown Windy City Bulls soon.