This week, some good news came out about former National Basketball Association star Delonte West. His former boss revealed in a social media post that the former basketball player was well on his way to recovery.
Former National Basketball Association (NBA) star Delonte West, 37, has had a public and well-documented battle with substance abuse. In September 2020, he desperately reached out for help near a Dallas highway.
He was seen, at the time, panhandling on the streets of Texas before the photo went viral on social media. Luckily for the former star, his former boss, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban reached out to him.
Delonte West on the court during a solo pre-game workout at the Dr. Pepper Arena on April 1, 2015, in Frisco, Texas | Photo: Michael Mulvey for The Washington Post/Getty Images
Cuban found West at a gas station and got him into a Florida recovery center. At the time, Cuban spoke to “The Washington Post,” confirming the news that he was assisting the former player by stating:
"I can just confirm that I found him and helped him."
The basketball team owner revealed that it was now all up to West and his family for him to get better. West was allegedly convinced by Cuban and his mother, Delphina Addison, to go into rehabilitation, according to “TMZ.”
The Dallas Mavericks owner actually went as far as offering to pay for the former player’s stay. On Tuesday, Cuban gave an update on how West was doing now via a Twitter post.
He shared two images of the former player who was seen playing frisbee with other people at the facility and also kayaking on his own. In the caption of the post, Cuban revealed how it was going with the star:
“It's still an uphill battle, but he is climbing!”
Before this update, in October 2020, Cuban tweeted a photo of West horseback riding at the facility. The basketball team owner explained at the time that the star was finally taking his first steps towards recovery.
The man in the clip was attacked in the middle of the road in West’s hometown of Washington D.C.
In 2008, West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. A year after that he had a run-in with the law and a few years after leaving the NBA in 2012, he had many clashes with the law in various incidences.
Another recent incident that occurred with West was in January 2020, when a Maryland police officer allegedly filmed a shirtless man speaking to officers after he was assaulted. The man in the clip was attacked in the middle of the road in West’s hometown of Washington D.C.
The video went viral on social media, and the man in the footage was identified as West through the tattoos on his body. The police officer who filmed the video was suspended shortly after the clip went viral.
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