No rumor ever shook up the basketball world quite like that of LeBron James’s mother’s supposed affair with James’s former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate, Delonte West. While the origins of the rumor stay unknown, each party involved in the supposed scandal seems to have been adversely affected by the breaking of the news, and now almost a decade later, the truth seems to have come out, as West clears the record about his alleged affair with his teammate mother.
The entire fiasco kicked off during the 2010 playoffs when James and West were still teammates. James, who was just 26 years old at the time, chose not to comment on the situation.
But once James lined up against the Boston Celtics during the 2010 semi-finals of the Eastern Conference, the effect of the rumor was clear as day, as James production saw a severe dip, leading to the Celtics taking care of the Cavaliers in just 6 games. LeBron would leave for Miami the very next season, citing professional and personal reasons behind his decision, further increasing speculation surrounding the validity of the rumor.
Even though James was hounded by reporters and members of the media to comment on the Delonte West situation, James seemed to steer clear, choosing against fanning the fire, that had already begun to consume his mindspace. John Salley, James’s teammate from his 2010 campaign even explained in a DJ Vlad interview, how the rumor of West sleeping with James’ mother was started by the media.
“They were saying something like that because they wanted a story. They were trying to get in between. And, I remember LeBron didn’t say anything. He had no words for it. And, he learned. Some smart people realize, that when there are rumors out there about you, don’t feed into it and it won’t survive.”
Once James departed from Cleveland so did West joining his former team The Boston Celtics once again. But in 2012, during an interview with Dallas News, West addressed the rumor for the first time, telling the media that,
“If we want to continue to grow as a human race, what are we teaching our kids if we try to make humor and fun out of stuff like that?” West continued. “Number one, something like that never happened. I don’t know where they got that from.”
West once again set the record straight through a viral Instagram video last August. In the video, the former Cavaliers player can be heard saying ” I ain’t never ever f****d anybody’s mother.”