Delonte West: From LeBron James' Mother's Lover to Homeless Psychopath

10 years ago, Delonte West used his affair with Gloria to tease LeBron James. Now, West seems to be getting his revenge.

Mark Cuban impressed everyone when he extended a helping hand to Delonte West, a talented former NBA player who fell into drug addiction and homelessness. But LeBron James was certainly not among those who were happy. The relationship between Gloria James and West had a huge impact on LeBron’s psychology 10 years ago.

In 2010, the final year of LeBron James’ contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the NBA was abuzz with rumors that Delonte West and Gloria James, LeBron’s mother, had a relationship that was more than just friends. Before that, there had been a lot of false information aimed at Gloria’s love life, but it seemed that the information about West was true.

The complicated relationship between Gloria James and teammate Delonte West made LeBron depressed

“Unfortunately, many of my reputable sources in the NBA have confirmed this relationship,” commentator Calvin Murphy shared on the radio. “They said that now there are only two people who don’t know the truth of the story, and that is me and LeBron.”

The needle in the bag eventually came out, and when LeBron James knew clearly about the scandal between his mother and his teammate. He completely collapsed in the Playoffs that year, and the last 3 games of the Eastern Conference Semifinals with a shooting efficiency of 34% marked the last time LeBron wore a Cleveland shirt (until 4 years later).

In the summer of 2010, James joined the Miami Heat and formed the Big 3, while Delonte West was picked up by the Boston Celtics for a $1 million contract. The Heat and Celtics were the two strongest teams in the Eastern Conference, and it seemed that Danny Ainge would stop at nothing to get a ticket to the NBA Finals.

West and James face off one year after the scandal

The 2011 Eastern Conference Semifinals were a clash between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. In the pivotal Game 5, when the two teams were tied in the final minutes, coach Doc Rivers sent in the trump card Delonte West. At that time, LeBron James was standing at the free throw line when he suddenly heard West whisper something in his ear. James’ former teammate walked away with a mysterious smile.

LeBron missed his second free throw and was immediately called for a foul after colliding with Paul Pierce. The Heat’s No. 6 got mad at the referee at a very sensitive moment of the game and was immediately given a technical foul. Pierce and Allen made their free throws, and West returned to the bench, high-fiving Doc Rivers with a triumphant smile.

No one knows what Delonte West whispered in LeBron James’ ear, but the Celtics’ victory that day was certain.

From Million Dollar Star, West Suddenly Becomes a Homeless Drug Addict

That was also the last time Delonte West was useful to an NBA team. He played one more season for the Dallas Mavericks, before being cut by the team due to his undisciplined personality. Since then, West has been shunned by other teams. Even Chinese and Venezuelan teams could not stay with this NBA veteran for long. He ended his career in 2015 with a serious injury.

Just one year later, the basketball world was shocked by the image of West going to a public place with bare feet and wearing a hospital gown. Rumors that the player 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in 1983 had become homeless arose and the former Cleveland Cavaliers guard immediately cleared the air, saying that he was just helping homeless people find a home.

In early 2020, people were devastated to learn that Delonte West had become homeless. A video of him sitting in the middle of the street, tied up, beaten and unconscious went viral on the Internet. It seemed that his addiction and bipolar disorder had defeated the former player.

NBA mourns the loss of a once-talented player

West once said he had a happy 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood despite poverty. It seems that his definition of happiness was drug addiction in his teenage years, self-harm and frequent visits to 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren’s hospitals. Perhaps it was those memories that hurt West both literally and figuratively, and he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2008.

In the years that followed, Delonte West often got into trouble with the law for possessing weapons. He also had problems controlling his finances, buying houses for both his parents and siblings, only to go bankrupt himself and even go to the job center to look for a job in 2011, when the NBA was on hold.

During the difficult days of his life, West did not receive any help from his relatives, who were living in the house he bought with his own money. Luckily, Delonte met his benefactor, when Mark Cuban personally drove to the gas station to pick him up, promising to help him quit his addiction, get psychological treatment and rebuild his life.

Is West paying the price for his bizarre prank?

Delonte West is a poor player, but surely those cruel jokes from nearly 10 years ago will not make LeBron James forgive him. Now, the two are in two completely different worlds. One is glorious with money and fame, the other is a homeless person with mental illness, in need of help from benefactors.

Thinking back, the characters behind the bizarre prank back then are also being “rewarded”. The Celtics have not been able to reach the NBA Finals since then, and Doc Rivers went to the LA Clippers, failed to reach the Conference Finals and became the only coach in history to be eliminated from the Playoffs 3 times with a 3-1 lead.

But no one paid any attention to that. People only saw poor Delonte West!