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DENVER, CO – FEBRUARY 12: LeBron James (23) of the Los Angeles Lakers warms up before the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, February 12, 2020. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

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DENVER, CO – FEBRUARY 12: LeBron James (23) of the Los Angeles Lakers warms up before the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, February 12, 2020. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
The downfall of Delonte West is one of the saddest tragedies in the NBA. He started as a promising basketball athlete. But in recent years, addiction, homelessness, arrests, and financial setbacks have marred his reputation. Back in his playing days, rumors also followed his off-court life. The biggest rumor during his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers related to tensions between him and the main man, LeBron James. It was widely speculated those scandals were the cause of James’ statistical decline back then.
Now Delonte West has set the record straight on those rumors. This entire debacle has brought back an NBA legend’s take on the drama. This four-time championship ring holder has seen his own fair share of drama between teammates and has been pretty vocal about it recently.
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Delonte West shuts down rumors about him and Gloria James
The last piece of hopeful news about Delonte West was in 2020, when Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban picked him up and sent him to rehab. West would later find a job in the same facility. In 2022, however, he was arrested again. This is only the tip of the iceberg for Delonte West.
Rumors dogged him and LeBron James when they were teammates in Cleveland for three seasons. The peak of the scandal was when the rumor circulated online about a romantic connection between West and LeBron James’ mom, Gloria, during the 2009-10 playoffs.

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Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, right, and Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James have their game face on as they guard each other in the fourth quarter at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008. Lakers lost 98?95. LeBron James scored 14 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter. Kobe Bryant finished with 33 points. (Photo by Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) | Courtesy: Getty Images
According to this claim, James found out about West and his mother’s relationship before a game and had an underwhelming play because of it. But it remains baseless and the origin of these rumors was never confirmed.
Delonte West has put an end to these rumors in person. A video has surfaced online of the fallen NBA pro outside a 7-Eleven. He addresses the person filming the video on the rumors regarding LeBron’s mother.
“I ain’t never ever f**ked anybody’s mother,”?he said in the video.
This video still raises concerns about West’s well-being. But he has enough consciousness to put a baseless rumor to rest.
John Salley on Delonte and LeBron James saga
Some NBA fans never believed this rumor as none of the concerned parties wasted their time to even deny it. But one NBA star did touch on this. John Salley weighed in on Scottie Pippen’s drama with Michael Jordan and Larsa Pippen recently. Previously, he spoke about Delonte West’s troubles.
“That’s a mental health issue,”?Salley sombrely put it. The Detroit Pistons star appeared on VladTV in 2020, shortly after Cuban had picked up West and put him in rehab. The interviewer also said that he tried to approach West himself for an interview.
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When asked about those rumors between West and James with his mom, Salley commended King James’ diplomacy. “Some smart people realize when there’s rumors out there about you don’t feed into it and it won’t survive.”
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West was also arrested in 2009 for carrying firearms on him when he was still in Cleveland. That made Salley recall the time he was still playing with the Lakers and they were in Cleveland. The team went to a club and “Saw the girls getting giddy? but others seemed very hostile. So Salley thought that West “must know something we don’t know” to carry three guns for protection.
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