Footage shows Cavaliers star and onetime LeBron teammate Delonte West BEGGING on side of Virginia road: Ex-NBA player was ‘trying to make basketball comeback in new 3-on-3 league’ following stint in rehab
- Troubled former NBA guard Delonte West was seen panhandling at the side of a road in Alexandria, Virginia
- West, 38, has publicly battled bipolar disorder and reportedly has drug issues
- In 2020, he was seen begging in Dallas and met Mavericks owner Mark Cuban at a local gas station
- Cuban is said to have put West through rehab three times, but he has walked out each time
- West earned over $16 million during his nine-year NBA career, which ended after his only season with the Mavericks in 2011-2012, when he was just 28
Newly surfaced video shows a haggard Delonte West panhandling on the side of road in Virginia, more than 10 years after he played alongside NBA legend LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers – and just weeks after he was reportedly trying to stage a basketball comeback.
Footage posted to social media over the weekend shows the embattled ex-NBA star panhandling on the side of the highway in Alexandria, Virginia.
West, 38, played for the Cavaliers for two years and was a former teammate of LeBron James.
He was supposed to be making a basketball comeback with The BIG3 (a 3-on-3 league with former NBA players), he announced in April.
Troubled former NBA guard Delonte West was seen panhandling at the side of a road in Alexanderia, Virginia
Footage posted to social media over the weekend shows the embattled ex-NBA star, panhandling on the side of the highway in Alexandria, Virginia.
In one clip posted online, a fan exchanges pleasantries with the man believed to be West and says, ‘My dog Delonte, how you doing my brother?’ West’s response was not audible.
In one clip posted online, a fan exchanges pleasantries with the man believed to be West and says, ‘My dog Delonte, how you doing my brother?’ West’s response was not audible.
The driver who posted the pictures to twitter seemed extremely surprised to see West on the side of the road.
‘Seems Delonte West on Richmond highway in Virginia 2 days ago. What happened so quick? A few months ago I thought they were trying to get him into the Big3 league,’ he tweeted.
West last played for the Dallas Mavericks, a team owned by Mark Cuban but after being off NBA rosters for more than a decade, it was hoped he might make a return to the court .
The Big 3 League includes veteran players who are no longer sought through the NBA and attracts players who are nearing their 40s.
The 3×3 basketball league was founded by Ice Cube in 2017 and comprises 12 teams and often recruits former NBA players to fill their ranks.
One driver who posted the pictures to twitter seemed extremely surprised to see West on the side of the road
As for West’s troubles, it’s not the first time he’s been spotted asking for money on the streets.
In September 2020, photos circulated showing West panhandling at an intersection in Dallas, Texas.
West, who has publicly battled bipolar disorder, was quickly picked up by Cuban from a local gas station. Cuban paid for his drug rehabilitation treatment and well providing West a hotel room to stay.
But a source confirmed to DailyMail.com that West has since entered rehab at least three times and has walked out on each occasion.
In what has become a sad, but regular occurrence for West, a brief video of the meeting with Cuban went viral, prompting fans and friends to plead for the former star to seek help.
Monday’s latest footage came less than two years after another viral video showed West being pummeled along a Maryland highway.
Troubled former NBA guard Delonte West (left) was met at a Texas gas station by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban (right) in 2020 to help the player who has battled bipolar disorder and a reported drug problem
Troubled former NBA guard Delonte West was met at a Texas gas station by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in 2020 after a photograph of him begging on the streets of Dallas went viral last week. Ultimately the billionaire was able to get in touch with West, who agreed to meet
Delonte West met Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban (left, right). He is said to have checked West into rehab three times but walked out every time.
West first made headlines along with Nelson and Martelli on a Saint Joseph’s team that went 27-0 in the 2004 regular season and earned a top seed for the NCAA tournament before losing to Oklahoma State in the Elite 8.
He was then drafted by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft and eventually became a starter alongside LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008.
West continued to bounce around the NBA after that, playing in the D-League and even signing in China, but mental health issues began to overshadow his career.
In 2009 he was pulled over riding a three-wheeled motorcycle, leading police to discover three firearms strapped to his body. He ultimately pleaded guilty to weapon charges and was ordered to undergo psychological counseling, in addition to probation and community service.
In 2016 a photo emerged of him panhandling in suburban Washington D.C., but it was never proven that he was actually homeless at the time.
According to Complex Sports, West was seen wandering around Houston without shoes four years ago.
West earned over $16 million during his nine-year career, which ended after his only season with the Mavericks in 2011-2012, when he was just 28.
Video of West being pummeled on a Maryland highway went viral in January of 2020. West, who previously revealed that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2008, is not seen fighting back in the footage. Rather, the 6-foot-4 Washington D.C. native appears to be incapacitated as his assailant stomps on his motionless body
West’s NBA career may be best remembered for his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers, when he played with LeBron James (right) on one of the best teams in the NBA’s Eastern Conference
THE RISE AND FALL OF DELONTE WEST
The following is a brief timeline of Delonte West’s basketball career and his subsequent personal problems:
- 2001: While playing at Eleanor Roosevelt High in Greenbelt, Maryland, West is named the Washington Post’s All Met Basketball Player of the Year
- 2001-2004: West attends St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia, where he teams with Jameer Nelson to lead the Hawks to an undefeated regular season in his final year before reaching the NCAA Tournament’s Elite 8
- 2004-2015: After being picked by the Boston Celtics with the 24th-overall pick of the 2004 NBA Draft, West bounces around the NBA, most notably teaming with LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers for two seasons. Ultimately he finishes his NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks in 2012 before moving on to stints in the NBA’s G League and in China
- 2008: West reveals he suffers from bipolar disorder, but later disputes the diagnosis
- 2009: West is pulled over riding a three-wheeled motorcycle, leading police to discover three firearms strapped to his body. He ultimately pleaded guilty to weapon charges and was ordered to undergo psychological counseling, in addition to probation and community service
- 2011: West reveals he applied for a job at Home Depot during the NBA lockout
- 2016: A photo emerges of West panhandling in suburban Washington D.C.
- January 2020: Viral video surfaces showing West being beaten by another man on a Washington-area highway
- September 2020: Photos circulate showing West panhandling along a street in Dallas, prompting Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to reach out and help the former first-round pick enter himself into a rehab facility in Florida
- June 2022: New photos posted to social media reportedly show him panhandling at an intersection in Alexandria, Virginia
Source: Read Full Article
