2x champion, 2x all-star David West retires the day after his 38th birthday.
Sneakily great player — few players in NBA history had the combo of passing, scoring efficiency and shotblocking he developed in his late career* — and, by all accounts, an even greater person. Spoke about political and social issues in an impressively deep and wise way, and was deeply admired by all his teammates and coaches. Steve Kerr called him "The President" — would that it were so. :-(
I never bought the Ethan Strauss hot take that he was initially signed as a "bulwark" for Draymond; his hoops skills alone were sufficient to make him worth signing, plus I never thought Draymond really required bulwarking. But I do think his character, toughness, and steady leadership were a sneaky-big part of what made the 2016-17 and 2017-18 Warriors teams so bulletproof.
*players in NBA history who have averaged at least 2 blocks and 5 assists per 36 minutes (min. 800 minutes played) with better than .570 true shooting:
1. David West 2017-18
2. David West 2016-17
That’s the complete list.
Edit: belated godspeed to Manu too, one of my all-time favorite players, and to me the best shooting guard since Jordan (with apologies to Kobe, Ray, Wade and Harden).