Delonte West says LeBron James saved his life: "It's a testament to the type of person he is"
Delonte West's final season with the Cleveland Cavaliers was a turbulent one. Even before the campaign began, West suffered depression, dealt with a stress disorder, and had a weapons charge hanging over his head.
One day during training camp, he had so much on his mind that he asked head coach Mike Brown right before practice if he could leave for a couple of days to go to his home state of Maryland to clear his thoughts.
While packing his things in the locker room, West said LeBron James came and sat with him for about an hour, encouraging him.
"He later walked me down the stairs and said, 'D, I don't know where you're going or what you're about to do, but I'll be right here when you get back'," recalled West."My spirits were so high at that point. I don't know what would have happened had I left in the condition I was in prior. It's a testament to the type of person he is."
Delonte did not want to board the plane
That gave West the desire to return with confidence, and he returned to the Cavs. Still, the uncertainty of his gun charge and his fear of losing everything he worked so hard for lingered on his mind. At one point during the season, West recalled an incident where he felt so low after a road loss that he did not board the team plane.
When LeBron realized he wasn't on the plane, James and his 'Four Horsemen' buddy Randy Mims searched for him. When they found West, they encouraged him to join the team on the flight. Cavs teammate Lorenzen Wright followed, and they eventually convinced West to ride the plane.
"Man, LeBron and Randy just fellowshipped with me," added West. "And then the next thing I knew, here comes [teammate] Lorenzen Wright before, rest in peace. He came out there and grabbed me, picked me up, bear hugged me. He hugged me for like five minutes. He had me up and they walked me up to the plane. Lorenzen read me Bible scriptures the whole plane ride. That team was a family, and LeBron was a big reason why."
West was accused of sleeping with LeBron's mom
Aside from his problems, what compounded West's troubles when he played in Cleveland was the rumor that he slept with LeBron James' mom. According to West, the issue bothered him because he was close to LeBron, and people everywhere always asked him that question.
"If we want to continue to grow as a human race, what are we teaching our kids if we try to make humor and fun out of stuff like that?" West said. "Number one, something like that never happened. I don't know where they got that from. For a strong black woman like that, for people to try to tear her down, that's terrible. That's terrible in so many ways."
Last October, West was spotted living outside a 7-11 store in Alexandria, Virginia. His personal life has spiraled down since he got out of the NBA. In recent years, people like Mark Cuban have tried to help him but to no avail. Despite his current sad plight, things could have been worse had he not gotten help when he was still with the Cavs.
