Delonte West LeBron James friend billionaire homelessness - The basketball player who played alongside one of the best of recent times and won millions of dollars now lives in poverty. In social networks a video circulating that shows its precarious situation.

In social networks a video circulates of a man who is beaten and then in a visible state of alteration is investigated by the Police. The responses of the man, who is barefoot, are understandable and are mostly insults of a person who is visibly affected by the effect of drugs.

This is the case of thousands of people in the world who fall into the scourge of the drug. However, the case has had special relevance because its protagonist is Delonte West, former NBA player, who was a partner of LeBron James and won more than $ 16 million in his nine-season career in the best basketball in the world.

West is a native of Washington and played at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, where he established himself as one of the best college players in the country and was selected 24th in the draft by the Boston Celtics in 2004.

In his rookie season, the left-hander did not have many opportunities to play due to several injuries but gradually grew as a player to the point that he was hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers of LeBron James.

Along with King LeBron, West played a leading role in the team and his best campaign was 2008/2009 in which the Ohio team was the best of the regular NBA season with 66 wins and 16 losses.

In this tournament, the forward of 1.91 m. He averaged 11.6 points and 1.5 steals in 33.6 minutes per game, being the second most important player after LeBron James who finished as the most valuable player in the NBA.

Delonte West LeBron James friend billionaire homelessness

Just this year, West learned that he was suffering from bipolar disorder and began receiving treatment.

West continued to play for 3 more years in the NBA, when he played his last season with the Dallas Mavericks, but as of his departure from the league his career fell downhill because of his problems off the court and his substance use.

In American media it was rumored that West was dating Gloria James, LeBron's mother, so a media storm was generated around the basketball player and his former teammate.

In addition, the player was arrested carrying multiple firearms in 2009 and in 2012 he was fined by the NBA for putting his finger in the ear of also player Gordon Hayward in the middle of the match between the Mavericks and the Jazz. An incident that cemented his departure from the NBA.

In the NBA, West won more than $ 16 million playing 432 games in which he averaged 9.7 points; 3.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds.

Then West played in the G League, the development league and the NBA, hoping to return to a team but none showed interest and jumped into Chinese basketball, which at that time hired several former NBA stars in the final stage of his career.

In the Asian giant, the player was with Fujian Xunxing and Shanghai Sharks during 2014 and 2015. West also made a short appearance in South American basketball with Guaros de Lara of Venezuela but gave up before playing any game.

The days as a professional basketball player for West ended after he suffered an injury to the Texas Legend of the G League.

At this point West's financial and personal problems were already evident, so he had to return to his job as a carrier at en Regency Furniture ‘to pay his obligations.

In 2016, the TMZ portal published a video in which West appears under the influence of drugs in the parking lot of a Jack in a Box hamburger restaurant in Houston.

A man asks incredulously if it is Delonte West and he replies: "It used to be but it didn't take that life anymore."

"I asked him what happened to him and he said‘ life, "said the journalist who recorded it.

He then circulated a photo at the intersection on St.Barnabas Road, in Maryland, with a cardboard sign asking for coins.

From there several videos have appeared that show the difficult situation of West but the strongest was the one that was released this week in which he appears shirtless, without shoes and being hit by another man on a Washington road.

For several seconds West is beaten upside down without defending. Then comes the police and his wife, asking him about what had happened.

"The man had a weapon," says the former basketball player who begins to utter insults, visibly agitated, and at one point only says inconsistencies.

Jameer Nelson, West's rival in the NBA and a schoolmate, referred to his friend's sad situation: “I feel sick in my stomach from Delonte's videos. To answer those who have asked me about the situation, all we can do is pray for him and his family, and expect him to receive the relevant help. ”