Dion Waiters’ Journey: From NBA Exit to Redemption and Return

In Las Vegas, during the summer league, several private training sessions have been held with veteran players who want to continue their career in the NBA. Isaiah Thomas or Harry Giles are some of them. Also a League champion: Dion Waiters. The Philadelphia player, at just 31 years old, has been away from the North American competition for almost three years.

In a chat with Chris Haynes en Bleacher Report he has opened up to explain what his life is like now and what he intends to do with it.

In the season that was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, Waiters, who had a difficult history with the Heat, had been fired in the winter and the Lakers turned to him in the transfer market in March, just before the NBA shut down. He did not debut until July 2020 with the Angelenos, the team with which he ended up winning the championship.

“I honestly think that what I’ve been through these last two years, not playing, has made me a better person. Also best father. Now I am able to say to my son: ‘Kid, your father is not out of the League for talent. It was my attitude, my character, not understanding that it was more important than me.’ I’ve had to go through a lot to be able to explain it to you.”

“I have improved when it comes to being patient and recognizing mistakes, knowing what I have done wrong, but I want to have the opportunity to correct all those mistakes and be able to demonstrate my growth”

“Basketball, that was my whole life. That’s what he did. You can have other businesses, but I am young and still have a lot in the deposit to play. I am healthy and I want an opportunity to show that I am not who I was before. And I know a lot of people talk about it. I want you to see how I have changed. And I still have that love, that tingling”

Waiters disappeared right after winning the NBA in the 2020 bubble.

“The first year I was still putting it together in my head. COVID-19 was circulating. It was all a bit weird. I feel like I should have gotten back to training faster to keep playing. But I’ve been through a lot of shit. Depression, anxiety… I didn’t know what my future would be like. Everything became overwhelming for me. I had to go to therapy every Wednesday”

The escort explains how bad he had in those days and how he has recovered from it to ask for that new chance to play in the NBA.

“I wasn’t having a good time. I had thoughts of getting out of the way, but I’m a father. I’d rather be miserable for the rest of my life than leave my children without a father. I didn’t want to have anyone around and everyone asked me questions. There were days when I slept all day in bed. I had nothing to fight for and I didn’t train. It was a mental fight.”

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controversial player. He is also an escort with forward skills, good at contributing points and also defending one-on-one. We are talking about the number 4 of the 2012 Draft, chosen by Cleveland after standing out in Syracuse. In 419 regular season games his average is 13.1 points. He did not let the interview go by without also saying this other reflection: “I apologize to those who have treated me badly. If I have humiliated anyone, including my family, I want to apologize. There are so many people who gave me an example: my city, the teams I was a part of, my children… I’ve gotten tired of being asked if I’m retired. The answer is no. I can still play. Now, in addition, I have a purpose. So sorry for everything I’ve done, good or bad.” A repentant man looking for a return to the place where, just before he disappeared from the public sphere, he seemed on top of the world.

2023-07-16 08:34:39
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