NBA
Delonte West arrested after fleeing cops, suspected overdose in disturbing update
Troubled former NBA star Delonte West has been arrested again early Thursday morning after a police chase in which cops had to administer Narcan for a suspected opioid overdose.
West, 40, fled cops in Fairfax County, Va. as they were trying to serve him a warrant for violating terms of release, according to TMZ Sports, before police found him “unresponsive.”
Officers administered Narcan but it “did not have the desired effect,” Fairfax County police told TMZ Sports, but it had the desired effect the second time after West was taken to a local hospital.
West, who was released from the hospital and charged with resisting arrest, appears haggard with his eyes only slightly open in his booking photo that had several NBA fans on X remarking how “sad” it was to see.
The ex-Celtics, Sonics, Cavaliers and Mavericks guard is being held on $2,000 bond and is due in court Friday, per TMZ Sports.
West, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2008, has fallen on hard times since he last played in the NBA in 2012, having battled substance abuse issues.
In October 2022 he was arrested twice in two weeks, first for trespassing and fleeing police and then for public intoxication.
Four months earlier, West was spotted panhandling on the side of a highway in Alexandria, Va., and days later he was seen loitering in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven.
Mark Cuban, then the majority Mavericks owner, helped West get into rehab in September 2020, but in October 2021 he was arrested after allegedly banging on the lobby doors at a Boynton Beach, Fla., police headquarters and holding an open can of beer and an open bottle of vodka.
West played parts of three seasons with LeBron James in Cleveland from 2008-10.
He averaged 9.7 points and 3.6 assists in 432 career games.