Delonte West

• West has said he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2008 after an incident during a Cleveland Cavaliers preseason game led him to step away from the team, seek counseling and begin medication. He discussed the diagnosis publicly soon afterward. [1]
• In a 2015 interview, West said he believed the bipolar diagnosis had been “somewhat overblown” and that he was no longer taking medication for it. At the same time, he continued to identify himself as bipolar. [1]

• West has described depression that could become overwhelming after setbacks in basketball. He said that a missed shot or lost game could develop into a “spiraling, snowballing depression,” sometimes leaving him unable to bring himself to leave the gym for hours. [4]
• He has also spoken about serious mental-health difficulties beginning much earlier in life. In a 2015 interview, West described repeated suicide attempts and self-harm during his teenage years. [1]

• After his 2008 bipolar disorder diagnosis, West sought counseling and began taking medication. [1]
• By 2015, West said he was no longer taking medication for bipolar disorder. In 2020, he entered a drug rehabilitation program with assistance from Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. [5][1]

• After entering rehabilitation in 2020, West was training for a possible return to competitive basketball by 2022. [6][4]
• In March 2026, West publicly said that he had reached 100 days of sobriety. [7]

• West has expressed interest in using his experiences to help others facing mental illness and addiction. In 2022, while working on a documentary about his life, his manager said West wanted the project to highlight mental illness and serve as a voice for athletes and others struggling with their mental health. [6]
• West has also spoken publicly about living with bipolar disorder, describing mental illness as “mental superpowers.” [4]

“Living a life of mental illness, they call it — I like to say mental superpowers.”

— Delonte West [4]