Confetti fluttered from the ceiling, and fans screamed after the Lakers won Game 7 of the 2010 NBA championship. Amid the chaos, Metta World Peace was interviewed on live television, and he made a comment that went viral.

"My psychiatrist, she really helped me relax a lot, thank you so much," he said. "It's so difficult to play. There's so much emotion going on during the playoffs, and she helped me relax."

It was a moment that stood out — an athlete being vulnerable about his mental health during a high-profile event.

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Increasingly, NBA teams are acknowledging the importance of the mental aspect of the game. Nearly half of the 30 teams have psychologists working full time or as a consultant on call.

World Peace said if he hadn't seen a therapist during the 2010 playoffs, the Lakers might have one fewer championship banner. "I wouldn't have been able to deal with certain things," he said. "I don't think I would have been as effective in that game without my psychologist."

The Dallas Mavericks have had psychologist Don Kalkstein on staff for 15 years. While coaches closely examine offense and defense, Kalkstein focuses on something else. "[Players] do so much training, physically, fundamentally, that they often lack mental skills training," he said.

Kalkstein said when a player averages, say, 20 points a game, he's expected to get those points despite troubles in his personal life — and that creates added pressure. He teaches them tools to lessen that pressure.

"We don't want the thought process to be 'I have to make this shot,'" Kalkstein said. "We want the thought process to be, 'I'm going to catch and shoot, I'm going to get myself in a good position.' So they concentrate and focus more on the process, which eliminates what we consider pressure and anxiety."

Another tactic he uses is something called a concentration grid — players cross off numbers 0-to-100 on a grid in sequential order as quickly as they can in one minute. He distracts them as they do the task. "They learn to develop really laser focus when they're asked to do that, instead of people talking about, 'Hey, you got to concentrate,' or 'You got to focus,' but they never tell them on what or how to," Kalkstein said.

Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, now in his 18th NBA season, said teams would benefit from making a psychologist available for players. "It really helps the young guys. I mean he helped me when I was young," he said.

For Antawn Jamison, who played for six teams in his long NBA career, having a psychologist to talk to as a rookie with the Golden State Warriors in 1998-99 was critical.

"Dealing with being away from my family and friends, also not playing particularly well, not understanding where the coach is coming from … just having to figure out how to pay my bills — I had a lot going on," Jamison said. "I had a guy who really was there for me to deal with the ups and downs; he was the team psychologist."