Former NBA Star Delonte West Shares a Positive Life Update As He Celebrates Sobriety
If you followed the NBA in the mid-2000s, you remember Delonte West.
The guard out of Saint Joseph’s University who the Boston Celtics selected with the 24th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft.
The guy who carved out a solid eight-season career suiting up for the Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks.
The teammate who ran the floor alongside LeBron James in Cleveland, Paul Pierce in Boston and Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas.
Now, after years of heartbreaking setbacks that played out publicly and painfully, West is sharing news that has the basketball community feeling genuinely hopeful: he’s 100 days sober.
Delonte West Posts Hopeful Sobriety Update
On March 25, a man by the name of Ted Sheely posted a video of West on Facebook.
In the clip, West was wearing an all-black outfit with Jordans on his feet and a chain around his neck, holding a phone and an energy drink with a smile on his face.
“Yeah, I’m out here with my man Ted, you know what I’m saying? Get your shine on,” West says in the video.
“We out here in Florida. Uber just pulled up. Cadillac. We out here with Wellness Fitness & Performance. They got me right and tight,” he continued. “Today, I’m 100 days sober.”
For anyone who’s watched West’s journey since his playing days ended, that last sentence carries real weight.
Delonte West Was Diagnosed With Bipolar Disorder in 2008
West’s life took a turn for the worse after retiring from basketball.
According to ESPN, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2008, and the years that followed his playing career brought a series of public struggles with mental health, homelessness and substance abuse.
By 2016, videos of him panhandling in Maryland went viral online. West later confirmed that he wasn’t homeless at the time and was instead helping a homeless man in his neighborhood.
But more photos of him panhandling went viral in 2020, and the concern from the basketball world grew louder.
Former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban stepped up at that point, helping West out financially and helping him enter a drug rehabilitation clinic. It was the kind of gesture that showed the NBA community hadn’t forgotten one of its own.
But West has rebounded and relapsed several times since then, including a string of arrests.
Delonte West Was Arrested Multiple Times in Recent Years
West was arrested at least twice in 2024 before another string of arrests in 2025, according to TMZ.
In November 2025, he was found “unconscious and not breathing,” though he was breathing by the time the Fairfax County Police Department arrived on the scene.
West refused to be taken to a hospital but was arrested due to how intoxicated he was.
He was reportedly 30 days sober in January before another setback. One week later, he was arrested in Virginia on robbery and assault charges. The robbery netted only $23, while his bond was set at $1,000.
His attorney, Brandon R. Sloane, told TMZ at the time: “(I’m) proud of Delonte as he has used this process to seek out help and been released on bond to a treatment facility.”
“We all look forward to his continued progress, and Delonte is particularly appreciative of the numerous thoughts and well wishes over the last several weeks,” he added.
Delonte West Had a Career Worth Remembering
West spent eight years in the NBA and averaged 9.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game during that time.
His final season came in 2011-12 with the Mavericks. After the NBA, he played in China and later the NBA’s D-League before retiring in 2015.
He wasn’t a superstar, but he was the kind of dependable, tough-nosed guard that fans respected. His years in Cleveland alongside LeBron made him a recognizable name for a generation of basketball fans.
That’s what makes this 100-day milestone feel different. West has been here before — early stretches of sobriety followed by devastating setbacks.
But reaching triple digits, looking healthy and sounding upbeat in that Florida video, it’s the kind of update basketball fans have been hoping to see for years.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
