For many veteran players, there’s typically a moment when they realize that their days are numbered. Some see that moment coming and others are caught by surprise. For David West, it was the latter.
During an interview with Alex Kennedy of Basketball News, West retold a story of the night he knew his time in the NBA was done and it included current Pelican Josh Hart.
“So there was that game, and then there was another game my last year [where I felt that way]. We played the Lakers and it was cold. When you’re over 6-foot-6 and in cold weather, getting warm is just a struggle. I couldn’t get warm the whole day — shootaround, massage after shootaround, my body wouldn’t loosen up. During the game, I tried to post up Josh Hart a couple times because he got me early. He jumped right up under me, he got up under me early and I couldn’t post him up.
Literally during the game, I’m like [telling myself], ‘Yo, if you can’t move this cat, you gotta go. It took all day just trying to get your body [warm] and it wouldn’t do it. It’s time.’ So there were instances like that.”
In his final season, West only played in two of the four meetings between the Warriors and Lakers. Those two games came on Dec. 18 and Dec. 22. It’s unclear specifically which game he is referencing.
To Hart’s credit, he has always been an above-average defender against big men. His versatility defensively and rebounding ability often allows for some creative lineups. But considering it was Hart’s rookie season, it was still a funny wake-up call for West that he was not long for the league.