Ex-NBA player’s downward spiral from $16 million to disheveled and barefoot
You rarely see the spiral. You see all-world athletes in their prime climb the ladder of the world, and then they disappear from the public eye with a long, long way to fall.
It seems as if Delonte West is the latest cautionary tale, an eight-year NBA career finished since 2012, and only surfacing now looking like a shell of himself.
The 32-year-old, who earned more than $16 million in stints with Boston, Seattle, Cleveland and Dallas, was spotted ambling around a Jack In The Box parking lot in Houston earlier this week, reportedly wearing a hospital robe and no shoes.
According to an Instagram user who happened upon the one-time St. Joseph’s star, West’s world-weary comments matched his disheveled look.
According to TMZ, the informant approached West and asked, “Are you Delonte West?â€
“I used to be, but I’m not about that life anymore,†he reportedly responded.
It only got worse.
“I asked [what] happened and he said life,†the questioner reports in an explicit caption.
West’s NBA career was a curious one, filled with literally unbelievable off-the-court stories to complement solid, everyman stats. He played more than 400 games, shot about 45 percent from the field, finished with more than 4,000 career points. All impressive numbers for the 24th-overall pick in the 2004 draft.
But then there are the rumors that followed around West, who was diagosed with bipolar disorder in 2008. The story was passed around in 2010 that, while with the Cavs, he slept with LeBron James’ mom. While he has denied it over the years, he’s also been elusive. He did not want his son to be a junior because his friends would ask him about the incident.
“I don’t want my son going to school and people making fun of him for something his daddy did,†he told Vice Sports in 2014.
In 2011, the guard, whose career earnings had exceeded $14 million already, revealed he applied for a job at Home Depot.
“It’s official,†he wrote in a since-deleted tweet. “Pride 2 the side. just filled out application at Home Depot. Lockout aint a game.â€
He even tweeted his application, though he quickly deleted the images to avoid trouble with his hopeful employers.
Since bowing out of the league in 2012, he’s bounced around the D-League and China. He was waived by the Texas Legends in early 2015, not to be heard from again until these pictures were unearthed.
For a one-time LeBron James sidekick, it’s a long way down.
