Warriors ask, ‘D-West, what do you got for us today?’
Teammates flock to well-rounded veteran David West for life advice
In between naps, card games or binge-watchingmovies, theWarriors have another way to keep busy on plane rides. They sidle up to veteran teammate David West.
They donot do this just to pass the time duringflights. They do this to learn, laugh and feel inspired.
“D-West, what do you got for us today?” Warriors forward Draymond Green has often asked on the team plane. Green jokingly remembered West once answered, “theEarth is off three centimeters.” Other times, West has addressed more practical topics.
West has offered lesson plans on the hardwood, ranging from dietary and training tips. He also has told life stories, sharing insight on racial and political issues stemming fromwhat he has read as an avid history buff and experienced as a well-traveled philanthropist.
“It’s presenting the best of myself to the world, to those who are around me and those I feel like I can help educate,” West said in an interview with The Bay Area NewsGroup. “I try to use the game of basketball to teach, educate, help enlighten and help provide clarity.”
It seems fitting the Warriors will be here this week for Games 3 (today) and 4
(Sunday) of the Western Conference semifinals against the New Orleans Pelicans. With West striving for what he calls the “pursuit of constant clarity,” his journey continuously traces back this city.
After the former New Orleans Hornets selected him with the 18th pick in the 2003 draft, West eventually became a two-time All-Star through eight seasons (2003-11). After seeing the damage that Hurricane Katrina left in this region over a decade ago, West has become emboldened to help those directly impacted by racial and social inequality.
In the past two seasons with the Warriors, West has become a dependable fixture on- court with his efficiency off the bench and off the court with his impact on social issues.
“I’ve learned a ton from him. He’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever been around,” Green said. “He’s just smart in a bunch of different areas. He’s knowledgeable about every topic that comes up.”
Maintaining longevity
The first lesson West learned: How to thrive and survive in the NBA. He entered the NBA hoping he would last 10 years but feared he would not. Instead, West, 37, has reached his 15th season and could possibly go beyond.
Even before becoming a wise veteran, West prioritized his dietary, training and sleeping habits. While he listened to and obeyed his trainers, he continuously asked questions. He took up boxing to maximize his hand-eye coordination, footwork and conditioning. He valued offseason rest to recharge before resuming workouts to avoid rustiness. He has cut out sugar.
Though West has kept most of those details secret, those became the ingredients for a long-lasting recipe that cemented an All-Star role with New Orleans and made him a valued Warrior.
West canned mid-range jumpers with dependable accuracy. He posted up by using his bruising 6-foot- 9, 250-pound frame. After running pick-and-rolls seamlessly a decade ago in New Orleans with Chris Paul, West has done the same with the Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala. West has defended with such intensity that Green observed, “He never has backed down from a challenge in his life.”
It appeared West could take on any challenge. But in Game 6 of the 2008 Western Conference semifinals against San Antonio, former Spurs forward Robert Horry set a hard screen that those around West still consider dirty. That aggravated West’s existing back injury and almost made it debilitating.
“I was trying to just play and push through it,” West said. “I was on every kind of pain and inflammatory (medicine). My disk was slightly out of line.”
West kept those details private. He also masked the pain with 20 points and nine rebounds in Game 7. Yet, West said he felt limited with every movement he made and fearful of the ones he didn’t.
“I was very fortunate not to make the thing worse playing in that Game 7,” West said. “Another bad hit, things would have been a lot different.”
West spent the next two months rehabbing his back and taking an MRI every week to gauge his progress. When West tore the ACL of his left knee in the middle of the 2010-11 season, he stayed just as aggressive with his recovery.
Though that marked the end of his time in New Orleans, West has not had amajor injury since. He remained a starter in Indiana (2011-15) until willingly sacrificing that role and opting out of a $12.6 million player option. He then signed veteran’s minimum deals with San Antonio (201516) and the Warriors (2016) trying to fulfill championship goals. Although West said he will decide his future in the offseason, Warriors coach Steve Kerr has said in a half-joking, half-serious tone that he wants West to play for three more years.
“When you’re that skilled at the game, your career can last longer because the game is easy for you in your head,” Kerr said. “As the body starts to age, you can still be effective.”
And because of that effectiveness, West’s teammates want to learn his secrets. So they listen attentively and observe.
“I enjoy watching that dude do anything — lift weights, put shots up, eat his breakfast in the breakfast room. Everything is intense,” Curry said, laughing. “He does everything strong. He does everything purposeful. It’s amazing to be around a kind of guy like that where the switch is always on.”
Making a difference
As West celebrated his 29th birthday on Aug. 29, 2005, at his home in Raleigh, North Carolina, he watched with concern as Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.
Once the levees broke, houses were destroyed, families were displaced and the city was soon under water. The federal, state and local governments were ill- equipped with their response times, emergency care and long-term recovery.
So, West and some teammates immediately flew to nearby Baton Rouge to help. They worked with food trucks to distribute meals. They went to shelters to deliver care packages. West visited Mississippi to offer the same support. As the team temporarily played in Oklahoma City (200507), West and others vouched for the franchise to return to New Orleans in hopes it could help with rebuilding efforts. He has continued to sponsor families in New Orleans affected by Katrina.
Since then, West has participated in other rescue efforts.
He and his brother, Dwayne, organize an AAU basketball team in Garner, North Carolina, as well as summer basketball clinics in various countries in Africa. West’s charity, the West Group, has funded college scholarships formore than 400 low-income students in North Carolina. And he has helped furbish basketball courts in Ghana, Senegal and Gambia.
During one of his annual trips to Ghana in 2016, West ran into Jerome Ringo, the founder and chairman of Zoetic Energy, a renewable energy company. Then, the two had a three-hour conversation that Ringo called a “divine meeting.” After that conversation, West joined the company’s advisory board and invested $250,000.
“Energy, electricity and clean water deficits that existed for most parts of the world aren’t going to fix themselves. So people need to engage and figure out ways to help,” West said. “The fact that there are billions of people that haven’t experienced electricity yet is beyond me. The generation of electricity helps stabilize lives.”
And it sounds as if West’s work is just beginning. When he won his first NBA championship last June, Ringo emailed West with a simple message. “Your best days are ahead of you.”
When the Warriors talk with West, including on the team plane, they often think the same thing.