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Over the last year, many have expressed concerns for former NBA player Delonte West's well-being. The latest is Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Cuban picked up the now homeless West at a gas station this week and offered to pay for treatment at a drug rehabilitation facility, according to ESPN.
On Tuesday, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that West took Cuban up on that offer and has checked into a rehab facility in Florida.
Cuban has been trying to reach West, 37, by phone for days, and when he finally was able to connect with him, West agreed to a meeting. Cuban's call to assist West came after TMZ published a photo of West panhandling in Dallas on Sept. 24. After seeing the photo, the Mavericks owner reached out to West's mother, Delphina Addison, according to The Athletic. She told Cuban the best course of action was to find West. Once Cuban was with West, he waited with the former NBA player in a Texas hotel until Addison arrived.
West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2008 and has publicly struggled financially in recent years. Countless former and current NBA players, as well as people from around the sports world, asked the public not to mock West after a video of him getting handcuffed by police in Washington, D.C., went viral in January.
During his time in the NBA, West was open about his bipolar disorder diagnosis. While with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008, West got into a heated argument with a referee during a preseason scrimmage. So heated that afterward, West admitted he "needed help" and agreed to go see a therapist.
"In a sense, you feel like a weaker man, because you have to raise your hand and ask for help," he said after being diagnosed by that therapist, according to Slate. "But I found out over the last week that it made me a stronger person. I came back focused, and with the help of some medicine and talking with people on a regular basis, I'm back in good spirits."
West last played in the NBA in 2012. He has two sons with his wife Caressa Madden.
Source: CBS Sports
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