Photo Courtesy Of NBA Retweet/ Twitter
Former NBA player Delonte West was allegedly seen panhandling on the highway in Virginia via a viral Twitter video.
According to news reports, a video of a man resembling West has been circulating on the social media platform since June 11. In the clip, the man is seen standing on Richmond Highway in Alexandria with a cardboard sign in his hand before he walks up to someone in a car, calling him “Delonte” and dapping him up.
“My dog Delonte. How [are] you doing, my brother?” the unidentified individual asked in the video.
The clip went viral two years following Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban’s attempt to get him back on track after he was spotted begging for money in Dallas. West previously played for the Mavericks during the 2011-12 NBA season.
With Cuban’s assistance, the 38-year-old was picked up at a local gas station and admitted to a rehab facility in Florida.
The Washington D.C. native was diagnosed with bipolar disorder a decade ago and made news headlines for his troubled life following his stint in the league. In 2020, he reportedly got into an altercation in his hometown and accused
a man of pulling out a gun on him. Witnesses told police that West started the fight by hitting someone else with a glass bottle.However, Cuban was determined to steer him in the right direction as he posted about West’s rehab journey on Twitter.
“Ladies & Gentlemen, I present to you, Delonte,” the 63-year-old wrote. “[He has] a long, long, long way to go, but he has taken the first steps and shared these with all of us as a thank you for the love and support.”
The basketball veteran also reportedly joined the rehab center’s staff as an employee and later tried out for Ice Cube’s BIG3 basketball league. Unfortunately, however, he didn’t make the cut.
West was a star guard at St. Joseph’s University in Pennsylvania and the Boston Celtics selected him with the No. 24 pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. Since then, he has also played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Seattle SuperSonics, and Dallas Mavericks.
We hope he gets the help he needs to get back on track.