For many younger NBA fans, David West may be remembered as a supporting piece for two NBA championship teams with the Golden State Warriors. However, the long-time power forward played at an All-Star level for quite some time during the earlier portion of his career and, after 15 seasons in the league, West announced his retirement on Thursday.
😎 pic.twitter.com/qVRK0fHD8D
— David West (@D_West30) August 30, 2018
It comes as no surprise that West would call it a career at this point, especially on the heels of two titles. The 38-year-old saw his playing time dwindle over the course of his final three seasons (including one with the San Antonio Spurs) but, on a per-minute basis, West was still an effective player and his career numbers are quite impressive.
In more than 1,000 career games during the regular season, West averaged 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest and, during his early-career run with the Hornets/Pelicans organization, he was a top-tier big man in the league. West’s prime consisted of a six-season stretch (from 2006 through 2011) in which he averaged 19.2 points and 8.0 rebounds per game and that impressive work netted him two All-Star appearances.
The Xavier product scored more than 14,000 NBA points, trailing only four future Hall of Fame inductees (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh) among players from the 2003 draft class. Though his peak did not quite reach the levels of some of his contemporaries, West should be lauded for an impressive tenure in the league and his performances with the Hornets/Pelicans and Pacers remain underrated at this stage.
David West can ride off into the sunset having enjoyed an applause-worthy run in the NBA and, given the outpouring from around the league on the heels of his announcement, it seems safe to indicate that West is beloved by colleagues, friends and family to boot.
