I was going to make some bad joke about Delonte West being depressed because, between him and ‘Boobie’ Gibson, there’s not enough opportunities to chuck ill-advised threes to go around in Cleveland. But I won’t.

West has been one of the more interesting characters in basketball, dating back to when he and I were in college at the same time, and I would watch him just take apart my Temple Owls twice a year. But what drew people to him was his offbeat personality, and his almost-bizarre interviews. (Sample quote: “You can’t kill a G. Bugs Bunny is a G. I want to be Bugs Bunny. I would pay to be Bugs Bunny for one day.”

So it wasn’t really much of a surprise when West confirmed the rumors that his two-week absence from the Cavaliers was due to seeking treatment for depression, which he says he’s dealt with for years.

“The ugly head started to show itself again,” the 25-year-old West said. “It’s been haunting me my whole life, self-destructive behavior. Everything is going good for me — being on a great team where anything less than a championship is unacceptable this year, getting a new contract, being in a good situation, When everything is on the upside, I’m feeling the worst.

“I’ve had a history of doing that in the past, where I’ve quit teams or sabotaged my own success. At this juncture in my life, I don’t want to keep doing that. I want to enjoy being in the NBA. I want to enjoy being successful. I want to enjoy my life.”

Depression and other mental disorders are an interesting animal in professional sports. It can be difficult for athletes to seek help, let alone go public, for fear of seeming less macho. There’s a stigma attached to it in players’ minds that makes it not unlike coming out of the closet. Which is a damn shame, and completely false. Said West, “For a while you feel like a weaker man because you’ve got to raise your hand and ask for help. But I found out over the last week that made me a stronger person.”

It can’t have been easy for West to see how skeptical some of the media were when Eagles’ guard Shawn Andrews admitted to his own bout with depression two months ago. In the midst of a contract dispute, some members of the media privately felt that Andrews was using depression as an excuse for not showing up to camp, or even worse, faking it altogether.

Then there’s the other end of the spectrum, the worst case scenario. Andre Waters, also an Eagle, killed himself in 2006 after a battle with depression linked to aftereffects from numerous concussions.

West, a Philadelphia guy, certainly would have taken note of both these cases. So that’s why it’s all the more impressive to read that he’s seeing a therapist and taking medication, which he says already has him feeling better:

“Last night was the funnest game I’ve played in years. It was like being on the playground as a child again. I had the time of my life.”