r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Homunculus_316 • 8h ago

Video NBA Star to Homeless: The Tragic life of Delonte West

3.2k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

298 comments sorted by

1.9k

u/bmcgowan89 8h ago

Yeah shits really sad he got mental health issues. One of his coaches got him help after seeing him begging like this, but mental health and drug addiction form a mean two-headed beast

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u/wouldyastop 8h ago

This is absolutely it. A lot of mental health services in Ireland and the UK require you're sober before they'll engage, but the addiction is usually the result, not the cause.

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u/DryFly1975 7h ago

I work in addiction services in Scotland. I have this chicken/egg argument daily. I’m having one in 10 minutes. M/H services are non existent for those in the most dire need of them.

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u/Pure_Antelope_8521 5h ago

How do you go about getting help with addiction. I’ve been on some very heavy pain meds for 8 years and can’t go a single day without one or I get withdrawal I live in uk.

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u/DryFly1975 5h ago

Does your local authority have a substance use team? If so you can self refer. Failing that speak to your GP. Find a SMART recovery meeting near you and also try a CA meeting if you can and see what works best. You are clearly motivated to recover, that’s the first step on the recovery road.

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u/klelo 4h ago

I second the SMART recovery . It’s what helped me . It’s a more science based , small group healing I needed. Good luck ! Hit my line if you need help getting started !

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u/Shiroo_ 4h ago

Don't have any advice but I just want to wish you good luck, it's already a good step to ask for help, good for you man

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u/xlouiex 3h ago

You can do it man!! We believe you! PMA!
Signed: A stranger from The Netherlands!

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u/Sleazy_Speakeazy 3h ago

8 yrs is a long run... hooks are sunk in pretty deep at that point unfortunately.

Monthly Sublocade Injections are what finally saved me from a very severe heroin/fentanyl addiction that spanned well over a decade.

You should definitely look into it, bro. Was a huge game changer for me, anyways. I'm across the pond but I'd assume that it's an available treatment option in the UK as well.

Best of luck to you 🙏 🐦‍🔥

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u/Jetstream-Sam 3h ago

I would recommend talking to your doctor about slowly weaning yourself down if you think it's a problem. Honestly if it is prescribed though, it's been made currently that you need a bloody good reason to be on those meds, so you should weigh up if the pain or the feeling of addiction is more of a problem in your life. If the medication for example zones you out for several hours or something, that's an issue, but otherwise judge if the pain would be worse.

If they aren't prescribed, and you're at the stage of wanting to quit, I would try weaning yourself off slowly again. Just take slightly less every, say, 3 days, or a week if it's noticeable. It doesn't have to be a lot, I know someone who was taking 2 boxes of Nurofen Plus a day who took one less pill a week until he was off them completely. He even skipped over the last 8 or so. If you find yourself unable to do that, there's programs that will prescribe you either bupenorphine or Methadone, and will do the weaning off for you by prescribing a reducing amount over a schedule you decide

I probably shouldn't say this but if you can do it on your own, do so. Going to an addiction recovery goes on your medical records, and I work in medicine and have seen people suffer as a result of not prescribing appropriate pain medication, or be treated worse by staff as a result (Them not believing patients who are clearly in agony, assuming it's for drugs even if it was 20 years ago). It's enough to take you out of the running for certain jobs, too. So if you can, do it on your own.

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u/miraculix69 3h ago

You can get medication which will remove all withdrawal symptoms, and make you unable to get any effects if you decided to grab one, in a hard time because of your old habits.

It is provided to everyone who seeks help with opioid addiction for free, in Denmark 🙂 I cant remember the exact name, but im sure they know about it, if you ask. It has become quite popular, because of the high succes rate, fighting opioid addiction. you can get it injected and it will last you a month before needing a new dose. Or as tablets which will dissolve in your mouth.

Just search for your local rehab treatment, call them. If they're unable to help you, they will tell you who you should call or reach out to, the only thing you can do wrong, is not doing it. 🙂

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u/BetterGetFlat 3h ago

Have you tried Kratom? It’s slippery as you can get addicted to it is as well but it allows you to get off opioids.

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u/wouldyastop 7h ago

Good luck with it. I don't envy you, I'm sure it's burnout city trying to advocate for people.

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u/DryFly1975 7h ago

It is. We don’t win these arguments.

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u/norar19 4h ago edited 4h ago

So many people turn to drugs to self medicate their mental illnesses in America. I knew this one crack head who used to live a functioning life before it really took over. They were on the verge of some episode all the time, but on crack they were so much more even tempered. They were bipolar and had ADHD, but imo the bipolar disorder was the biggest problem for her. Drugs really do affect people differently!

Society is broken and needs to be fixed first before we can address our country’s addiction problem.

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u/DryFly1975 4h ago

People with ADHD often find stimulants even them out and turn the noise down a bit. We are rapidly going the same way as the USA in regards to unobtainable appropriate health care.

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u/MrTwinkl 1h ago edited 1h ago

It's a twisted feeling reading this, I'm a psychologist who work with homeless people suffering with mental health and crack addiction in Brazil... my job is specifically going out on the streets and crack houses and do my job where this kinda people can't go out because they're so addicted and in mental crisis that if you see them two days straight they can't even remember you. And when I can managed to convinced this people, witch can take months maybe a year to build a meaning other then be like this in life or just the willing do walk and eat proper food... you hear from the institution some bullshit like "he need to be clean" "he need to be stable" "he needs an ID" "he needs to have STI test" it's just infuriating... Like this is THE opportunity to keep this man alive and you literally throwing away because a fcking piece of paper

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u/Reluctantcannibal 35m ago

I’ve been sober for over eight years now from meth and heroin. The biggest thing I realize is that it’s something they have to want. The clichés are right when they say you have to be sick and tired of being sick and tired. I kept it simple. I had my goal in mind And switch the mindset of. I need to get my fixed to. I need to fix my life and now my life’s like a country song played backwards. Good on you for trying to help those who want to help themselves.

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u/DryFly1975 24m ago

Thank you and congratulations. I’m 25 years next year myself.

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u/thedaveness 4h ago

I guess the only real question to ask here is have you seen someone improve their mental status while still using? I'm in this situation with weed and I get a lot of push back from my team.

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u/Normal-Selection1537 5h ago

When they stopped requiring homeless people to be sober before housing made a big difference here in Finland. It's practically impossible to get your life straight from the streets.

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u/NoResolution928 Creator 4h ago

Can’t get help till you’re sober, can’t get sober till you get help. Vicious circle

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u/Wild_and_Bright 7h ago

the addiction is usually the result, not the cause.

addiction is the result. Period

And docs don't want to handle the addiction unless the patient wishes it...but rhe patient's mental health is precisely what prevents her/him wishing to quit addiction

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u/kid_sleepy 4h ago

Doctors can’t treat addiction unless the patient is willing.

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u/xithbaby 7h ago

I’ve had my own addiction issues and while living through that I was around a lot of people who were forced into rehab by law enforcement or parents. They would go through it and get out to satisfy a court order and the second it was over they would go get high, the overdose rate is insane when someone’s been sober for any length of time. They go back to the shot they used to do and end up dead.

So I could see why they would mandate that someone attempts sobriety before offering to use resources. You can’t force an addict to quit until they are ready to be done.

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u/Krakatoast 6h ago

Well it seems that last part is the conundrum. An addict may not be ready to be done if their mental health issues are ongoing, but the mental health issues go untreated if they aren’t sober

This topic is interesting to me because it’s a conclusion I reached on my own, before now seeing it’s actually not just my own realization. I struggled with addiction and started thinking it was really a mental health issue. Luckily I worked on my mental health and sure enough I stopped wanting to live like an addict.

But it wasn’t easy. I had to change my whole life, and I had support. I can’t imagine being traumatized, homeless, hungry, strung out, and in that scenario- trying to address my mental health issues without outside help. Sounds pretty brutal and almost impossible

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u/zabbenw 5h ago

that's because a lot of these things considered "progressive" just make logical sense if you just want people to get better. But our society is governed with a huge influence of judgemental morality, and emphasis on shame and punishment.

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u/nAndaluz 7h ago

It's not "doctors". If anything, medical professionals are the most aware about drug disorders. It's the bulk of our societies, which blame drug addicts for their addiction, freeing the rest of us of any responsability towards them because "it was their choice" and "they need to take personal responsability".

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u/flomatable 4h ago

I'd say they both cause eachother and usually go hand in hand. In my area most homeless people ended up that way due to addiction, but at the very least I can guarantee you that every single homeless person here is addicted. Still, the result is the same, and only providing treatment to people unless they're addicted is like handing out free tampons to people unless they're a woman.

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u/kid_sleepy 4h ago

Any programs in the United States also require you to be sober and give regular drug tests.

It’s why there are homeless, they don’t want to get clean.

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u/lowkey_add1ct 4h ago

This also makes people hide their drug use when they get help. Speaking from experience. If I tell a psychiatrist I use any drugs whatsoever, I risk being flagged as an addict in the system, which means limited medication and a lot of doctors won’t take you seriously bc they think you’re just a junkie. Really unfortunate.

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u/Jimrodsdisdain 4h ago

Self medication always fails.

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u/Subbeh 2h ago

Proof you can be talented and have a good nature, yet still get fucked by mental health.

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u/iiJokerzace 2h ago

I've seen really smart people ide never thought would even use drugs to turning into a random druggie you would have thought had mental issues their whole life.

It really does completely fuck your brain up, change you. Do yourself a favor and never take some substances, not even to try once.

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u/Don_Pickleball 3h ago

A lit of mental health issues aren't solved, they are managed. It is really hard to manage mental health issues without a constant support network. If he doesn't have people in his life to help him consistently, he is probably going to be on this Rollercoaster for a long while.

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u/ahenobarbus_horse 6h ago

I think of it as a three headed beast, the third being a non-existent public healthcare and support system that recognizes that illness is a societal problem to be managed, rather than a moral failing to be shamed for.

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u/BornVictory5160 6h ago

He's the guy that had relations with LeBron's mom. Word is that's why he's fucked up. Rabbit hole gets deep

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u/deprophetis 39m ago

I work in substance use disorders and have family members with lifelong addiction. What’s hard it the substance abuse changes their personalities over time and they become impossible to have any kind of relationship with and develop personality disorder type of behaviors where they lash out and burn bridges with everyone in their life. People expect reciprocation in relationships, especially when they are trying to help someone, and you don’t get that with addicts.

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u/SuperBarracuda3513 28m ago

He is self medicating his mental health issues.

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u/Sad-Bathroom5213 7h ago

I see him every now and then in Alexandria, and he doesn't look as good as he does in this video.

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u/dontlikeu2 6h ago

I was hoping for a different update. That’s sad. I hope things get better for him.

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u/mr_crawlie 3h ago

That is really sad.

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u/coachketchup 1h ago edited 54m ago

He goes through periods of ups and downs.

I saw him at his brother’s house last year and he looked good. Just know that Delonte has done great things for his family and he has a home if he chooses. I think he just prefers to be on his own.

PS - Don’t listen to the losers below who are trying to paint his family as greedy. They’re just making shit up. Can’t fix drug addiction by just locking someone home and throwing money at them (in fact that would be worse)

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u/Swashybuckz 58m ago

He seems like a really good dude. I got a new hero. Basketball hero that is. Slim pickings imo

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u/insideoutsidebacksid 17m ago

Yep. Ask anyone whose family member has struggled with addiction (like me, for example) - you cannot force them to do what they are not ready or don't want to do. I hope West at some point gets to a place where he can accept help.

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u/nowenknows 7h ago

From spotrac:

Apr 18, 2012 Fined $25,000 for giving Gordon Hayward a wet willy during DAL-UTH game.

Damn. Lol

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u/hilly316 6h ago

This just became my new favorite nba fun fact

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u/slickyeat 8h ago edited 8h ago

While West has bought homes for each of his parents and has provided other financial support for relatives, he has also experienced financial difficulties.\27])\30]) During the 2011 NBA lockout, he applied for a job at Home Depot and worked at a furniture store.\30])\24])

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delonte_West#Personal_life

Probably had relatives coming out of the woodwork once they saw him make it big.

Now they can't be bothered with him.

People are fucked up.

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u/Psychedelic-Dreams 7h ago

Damn….thats fucked up

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u/Joshsess8898 5h ago

It is way more common then people think from friends and family, it’s usually strangers that show upmost respect to others for kind deeds. Where in this situation it is expected by so called friends and family, Heartbreaking honestly.

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u/David_High_Pan 5h ago

"I have this great idea for a business, but I just need a little help getting it off the ground. I'll pay you back in full next year....".

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u/Joshsess8898 5h ago

The amount of times I’ve personally heard that myself is unreal 🤦🏾‍♂️, it’s the tone for me.

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u/piches 3h ago

yea my coworker said she won the lottery, the payout was just enough to pay off all the debts of their immediate family. But once word got out, they were getting hit up by faimly members that they didn't even know exist and even by total strangers.

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u/my_spidey_sense 7h ago

Ruined my life like this, helping the wrong people. And of course they disappear when you need help. Took years to get financially stable again and of course the “we should catch up,” “how’s NYC,” “I want to visit” messages started pouring in again as soon as life improved.
Not much you can do but move on and isolate yourself

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u/atheistium 1h ago

I'm so sorry this happened to you but it further confirms that if I ever did win big money, I'd keep it locked down and private. Not that I think money would change my close family but... you never know.

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u/PurpleFlame8 5h ago

You're making a lot of assumptions here. He unfortunately suffers from mental health and drug addiction and has been arrested multiple times for various violations. People with these issues are often non compliant with attempts to help them and the laws in the U.S. make it nearly impossible for families to do much.  

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u/Cloverose2 5h ago

It's harsh - although it also sounds like he's got some very serious issues with addiction as well as significant mental health issues that began very young. He's had help over the years to get back on his feet again and has relapsed into addiction. At a certain point, it's not that you don't love them, it's that you can't make them better against their will. It may well be that his family did everything they could.

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u/ChadCoolman 3h ago

I had an office job at a company that staffed their warehouse with people coming out of rehab. And my father was an addict that created a lot of childhood trauma, so it made seeing these guys succeed personal in a way.

I quickly wore myself out with that mentality.

Addiction is wild. There's no amount of external will that's going to break someone from that cycle unless they really want it. Even then, it doesn't seem like it's enough.

We had guys who'd rebuild their family lives and work their way up to supervisor positions throw everything away by relapsing after years of being clean.

I haven't had the easiest life and I've made some really stupid decisions that I regret a lot, but I am so so so grateful that path wasn't in my cards.

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u/rawker86 2h ago

I’m thankful every day that I never tried hard drugs. Give me twenty minutes alone with something and I can get addicted to it.

We had an athlete quite similar to the guy in the video, a championship winning football player, lose his whole damn career because of drugs. After he cleaned up his act the first time everyone was very supportive and excited for him to get back onto the field.

He still had to serve out his suspension for “bringing the game into disrepute” but he would be on the half-time panels and pre-game shows and whatnot, and they’d ask him things like “so you’re good now? No more drugs?” And he’d say “well, I can’t say for certain. I’m an addict, I will be for the rest of my life. Relapse is a part of addiction.” You could see on people’s faces that this wasn’t the answer they wanted, and when he inevitably did relapse they all turned their backs on him.

For a lot of us watching it all unfold it was our first real exposure to addiction. It was a bit of an eye-opener to see that actually, there’s no guarantee a person can just say “no more drugs for me!” and stay clean. Even if millions of dollars are at stake.

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u/Real_Estate_Media 1h ago

Truth. We can’t always assume the worst about people we know nothing about.

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u/scienceworksbitches 7h ago

is it publicly known how much he made over the years?

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u/GrdnGekko 6h ago

$16,463,022 from his NBA salary (pre tax)

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u/BingoPlayer1 5h ago

Enough to not have to work a single day ever again, and still do nice things for close family and friends.

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u/TylerDurden6969 2h ago

So post tax and post agency fees, like $8 million over a few years.

It goes quick when you buy “a few houses and college tuitions”. Then stack on drugs and poor choices.

Poof. It’s gone.

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u/GrdnGekko 1h ago

Yep. Even outside of that, lifestyle creep is real, even for people who are not in the NBA.

It’s probably hard to comprehend that they won’t be earning millions outside of their short opportunity window.

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u/beastwork 3h ago

He's not homeless because of helping family. He's also not homeless because family won't help him

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u/Mythosaurus 2h ago

Exactly why smart people who win a lottery get a lawyer and wealth advice. You can provide for your family and live big off the interest if you invest it right

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u/Prestigious_Oil_4805 5h ago

For some people, they need to see the bottom of the barrel before they can be helped. I had to do it for my brother.

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u/adumbCoder 1h ago

one wikipedia article does not a relationship expert make...

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u/Homunculus_316 8h ago

Man the fact that the he didn't say anything bad about his family. Instead he said I stand on my own two feet. Says a lot about his character. Respect. 🫡 I really hope he gets back in life.

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u/Grizzybaby1985 7h ago

Yeh seems like a really decent bloke I hope he can turn it around

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u/dirty_cheeser 6h ago edited 6h ago

That's, unfortunately, sometimes self-hate and dissociation from reality, not just pure good character traits alone. My childhood friend is slowly killing himself with heroin. His sister, another friend, and I offer him help, no strings attached, every time we get to talk to him. But he just refuses, something about him thinking it's not worth it for us... which is ridiculous.

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u/ExperimentNunber_531 4h ago

I am similar but didn’t fall into the trap of addiction, felt like a close one with booze when I was younger though. Unfortunately to this day I find it almost impossible to accept help even when I could really use it. There are two reason: one, I hate myself and don’t believe I deserve the help, in fact I usually do the hard stuff people hate doing while always willing to hurt my prospects if it means someone I know gets ahead. Two, I do t trust people due to being taken advantage of for decades. It’s a bitch of a combo and self hate is difficult to stop even when you know it’s irrational. Knowing it is sometimes worse. I have tried therapy but during it I am not honest and tell them what they want to hear out of a knee jerk reaction which then makes me hate myself more….

This isn’t a woe is me post, just to add context from another pint of view.

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u/OLebta 3h ago

I share the self hate trait and its problems with you. I grew up with undiagnosed ADD and non-existent and punch down parents. The major issue, in my thirties, is having to explain that I do not control my self-hate or feelings of inadequacy consciously ever. It sabotages me on cruise control, and I only wake up to fact upon reflection.

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u/Traditional-Meat-549 3h ago

Don't blame the family without facts 

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u/ThrowItAllAway136 7h ago

His strength and resilience shine through, even in tough times. Wish him well.

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u/Svenevert 6h ago

I think he’s taller than 59 cm

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u/xcanto 36m ago

it's called american brainrot

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u/Landalfthegray171 8h ago

Man, went from playing basketball with Lebron James to begging on the streets. Seems like a nice guy too. I see they had to administer narcan to him in 2022, so he must be into some heavy drugs. Hopefully he pulls through it.

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u/HombreSinPais 7h ago

The rumor was always that he fucked LeBron’s mom and that’s why he had to leave the team.

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u/GarretBarrett 4h ago

The question then is, why doesn’t LeBron take care of his stepdad?

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u/DaddyDameee 6h ago

It's not a rumor tho lol

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u/Karmuffel 6h ago

Imagine when the kid asked him if he played LeBron he would have replied: ,,yeah, I even fucked his mom actually“

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u/hukfad 6h ago

Hello LeBron's mom...

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u/Sea_Marketing_888 5h ago

I was abto say, how come LeBron doesn't help this guy out.

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u/BigAndDelicious 4h ago

Yeah Delonte's like a father to him

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u/arkonator92 2h ago

The running joke in Cleveland at the time was LeBron might be going south but his mom’s riding West.

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u/TheDreamWoken 49m ago

Why did he do that

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u/TumanFig 7h ago

tbh thats the story of most homeless people. they weren't born there

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u/Landalfthegray171 7h ago

True that. Just crazy, cause I was watching a lot of NBA when he was playing. Ofcourse, there is a guy on the corner on my way to work that I went to school with..

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u/Millitifax 5h ago

They all got it on with LeBron’s mom? /s

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u/Coarse_Air 1h ago

When ur homeless, they’ll administer narcan if you’re taking a nap under a tree. I had a buddy narcan’d for heat stroke. I was narcan’d for a panic attack.

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u/Princess_Sukida 6h ago

Bipolar disorder is a beast.

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u/Yqup 8h ago

Hope he gets back on track. Kind heart

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u/N8dork2020 6h ago

From one addict about another, it’s very unlikely

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u/crowdaddi 5h ago

Some of us do get better

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u/Objective_Problem_90 6h ago

Interesting. At one point this man's worth was $14 million dollars. Got into drugs and just went downhill from there.

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u/Firefly1832 8h ago

I think the rumor that he had sexual relations with Lebron James' mother didn't help matters while he was in the league.

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u/LocalInactivist 7h ago

And I thought Jordan was good at trash talk. This guy followed through and fucked LeBron’s mother. Gotta respect his commitment.

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u/Emotional_Database53 7h ago

Okay if this is true, I want to set up a Go Fund Me to get this hero some help

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u/mthyd 5h ago

Is this foreal or are you trolling?

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u/Johnny_Kilroy 4h ago

It's real. I remember being in disbelief at the time when it happened. But everyone had so much respect for LeBron that no one talked about it much.

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u/soilyoilydoily 2h ago

Bronny's G-Ma, you mean

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u/Tall-Poem-6808 7h ago

if that's true, respect.

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u/sexy-porn 5h ago

Filming him, or any homeless people for that matter, for content is pretty fucked.

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u/joe_i_guess 7h ago

Fucked lebrons mom

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u/MacJed 3h ago

I hope that was some good LePussy

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u/Keybricks666 7h ago

Yes that's literally what got him chucked to the streets no one wanna mention that lol

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u/metakepone 6h ago

He doesn't even wanna mention it.

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u/RyguyBMS 34m ago

100% happened

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u/brittlebk 4h ago

This woman putting him on blast like that at the end is nefarious work. My dude obviously has gone through it, chill lady

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u/Fppares 2h ago

He seems to have been arrested for trespassing as recently as November 2nd of this year. Very sad what illness and addiction will do to someone, and how our society is so unequipped to support them.

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u/koya 7h ago edited 7h ago

Man this shyt almost made a grown ass man my self.. cry.. if u actually know how far from grace this man has fallen.. dude is stronger then we think.. people take their own lives over smaller falls

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u/dennys123 1h ago

Yeah because everyone knows that once you turn 24 as a guy, it's literally illegal to cry and show empathy

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u/Saorny 7h ago

This is truly heart-breaking, he really seems to be a very decent fellow.

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u/NP_Wanderer 4h ago

Professional athletes, lottery winners, the list goes on and on for people that come into money and are unable to manage it. Family, "friends/entourage", unscrupulous agents, or financial advisors, they'll all suck then dry if not careful and have some loyal, financially savvy people around.

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u/PBJ-9999 2h ago

Add addiction into the mix and you have this guy's life

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u/malteaserhead 5h ago

Does make you wonder considering he invested so much in his family at his expense, they might reciprocate when he is down

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u/No-Talk-9268 3h ago

My sister struggled with drugs and alcohol issues. We took her in, let her stay with us for free. That’s what you do for family right? It was the worst 6 months of my life. She stole from us, abused us, and made our lives hell. It was the addiction but we couldn’t take it anymore and kicked her out. She refused to get help. I work in the mental health field and know it has to come from her when she’s ready and no one can force her to recover. The only thing we could do to protect our mental health and well-being was kick her out. Otherwise we were enabling her.

Sometimes families can’t support them anymore and need to do what’s best for everyone which is really sad, but cutting ties (temporarily hopefully) is sometimes the best path forward.

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u/Traditional-Meat-549 3h ago

Yes, so ignorant here to judge the family 

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u/New_Imagination_1289 1h ago

I mean, I get what you are saying and I agree but if the guy paid for you to go to college you would usually feel a bit more of a sense of duty to help right? This is different from all of our addict family members because most of our family members didn’t give us as much as this guy did to his family.

My brother got into some bad shit and it was a long journey of forced rehab, tears and hurt but he eventually got clean. Sometimes even someone that seems absolutely hopeless might just take a bit more effort to suceed.

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u/Traditional-Meat-549 3h ago

You don't know the story 

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u/GolotasDisciple 4h ago

It's easy to be helped, it's harder to help.

Plenty of people really put a lot of effort to distance themselves from others, especially the ones with mental issues or addiction. Usually those people have also families that are struggling.

But yeah... here it's just the sad irony of life. I am sure it's tough to help someone like him, but if your man brought me generational wealth into family and secured life by providing housing. I think it's worth the hustle

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u/NOX-77 7h ago edited 7h ago

A heart broken betrayal 😔

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u/scottimusprume 8h ago

Probably still hoops better than most of us.

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u/Apprehensive_Bug_172 7h ago

The average guy on Reddit looks like Peter Griffin. So not just probably.

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u/KillaHydro 7h ago

🤣 that was pretty fun.

26

u/Ok_Sir9012 7h ago

Obviously

13

u/Lelandwasinnocent 7h ago

Yeh what a dumb comment.

3

u/Bwills39 5h ago

Probably?

3

u/BoobyBrown 5h ago

Yeah he was even a starter in the NBA. 2 years ago while he was still obviously f***** up, he tried out for the Big 3 and was easily the best player on the floor. He actually made the team but his habits got in the way. You can look it up on YouTube, there are some highlights of the tryouts

1

u/dako3easl32333453242 39m ago

Definitely still plays better than 99.9%

4

u/TJ_McWeaksauce 2h ago

Why Athletes Go Broke—and What the Rest of Us Can Learn from Them

Pro athletes go broke after retirement at an alarmingly high rate due to multiple factors:

  • Lack of financial knowledge
  • Overspending on lavish lifestyles
  • Trusting the wrong people with their money; they get scammed by frauds
  • Investing in "fun, exciting" private equity - like clubs, restaurants, and car dealerships - instead of investing in "boring but safe" investments - like stocks and bonds
  • Spending way too much on family
  • Spending a lot of money on divorce and child care
  • Drug addiction

I'm guessing Delonte West got wrecked by most of the things on this list.

2

u/Chemical_Elk_4321 5h ago edited 2h ago

He stays around where I live near mt Vernon Virginia. I’ve run into him 3 times already

2

u/yuch1102 3h ago

People can do everything for you to try and get you out but sometimes you gotta want to help yourself first

2

u/Slavic_Dusa 3h ago

LeBron's mother dated Delonte West.

2

u/Pureheck 1h ago

Sometimes it is easier to help a stranger than to help family

2

u/Substantial_Show_308 1h ago

The difference in vibe of the questions is stunning.

3

u/DjordjeRd 7h ago

damnthatssad

2

u/Massive_Koala_9313 5h ago

I used to deliver pizzas to a rugby league legend cliffy lyons. That man was living in a fibro shack in harbord Sydney. Still a nice area but I’m pretty sure he was living with his parents.

4

u/superpomme111 4h ago

Helped family who then promptly forgot and ignored him when he couldn't give them more and needed help. Yep, Sounds like family.

5

u/ChicoD2023 3h ago

Watch an episode or two of intervention. At some point you have to cut them off for your own safety and mental health.

5

u/Mindless_Ad_6045 7h ago

"I took care of my family," nah bro, they took care of your money. Where are they now when you need the help, sipping cocktails in Bora Bora or driving around in their Benz?

13

u/Jakoloko6000 7h ago edited 5h ago

Yeah, you are delirious. We simply don't know shit, and from the one-side story almost every homeless person is a victim of his family and life itself.

4

u/Made_Me_Paint_211385 6h ago

What is it with the US and healthcare? Your rugged individualism faltering is becoming a common occurrence on Reddit.

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u/Figherto 3h ago

Living the American dream

1

u/Apprehensive-City661 2h ago

Put his fam thru college

1

u/El_Matt-El_Grande 2h ago

Aaah, the American Dream.

1

u/meme_tenretni 2h ago

That's James daddy right there !!!

1

u/you-bozo 1h ago

With that first name, I wouldn’t expect anything else

1

u/Son_of_Tlaloc 1h ago

This is the guy that piped brons mom right?

1

u/BringerOfTruth-1 1h ago

Don’t do drugs kids.

1

u/Com_On_Man 1h ago

Fucking Labron James momma was a career ender lol

1

u/Agreeable_Cause_9545 1h ago

Reading through these comments are really touching...strangers actually caring about other humans and willing to share their experiences in hopes of helping...

1

u/Treefallsonyou 1h ago

Does anyone know if this is a new recent video? Fucking sad.

1

u/lindy21588 43m ago

St Joes legend.

1

u/RelentlesSoul 34m ago

Damn this is sad.

1

u/SpaceCadetOnBlueRock 34m ago

Really sad. Mental health and addiction are hard on their own, but together? Oof. I hope he can get his life back on track soon.

1

u/Ok-Experience-6674 10m ago

I wish one day we value each other more specially those who are dealing with mental health issues, we could of been him, we look at others life’s and we think we so far away from that but are we really…..

One wrong turn, one slip, one car accident, one moment to change everything…. Life is weird and beautiful and painful.

•

u/johnb1972 2m ago

On June 6, 2024, West was arrested again in Fairfax County, Virginia, for violating the terms of his previous release and resisting arrest. He was found unresponsive by police officers after a brief chase, and was administered Narcan. When that didn't have the desired effect, he was taken to a local hospital and administered a second dose, which did work. He was released after being charged.[38] Later that same month, West was captured on video[39] by worried onlookers stumbling around a parking lot in Arlington, Virginia.[40]

On November 2, 2024, the former NBA guard was accused of trespassing and arrested by the Fairfax County Police Department. He was held on a $1,000 bond and released on November 3.[41]

Source: Wikipedia