Damion Lee and David West, induction ceremony as Honorary Warriors For Life

Dub Nation has decided

The master list of Honorary Warriors For Life lists everyone already polled.

Damion Lee

The final votes are in for Damion Lee as Honorary Warriors For Life, and the results are:

• Twitter: 57% yes

• DNHQ poll: 74% yes

• Comment votes (each counts as 10 votes): 80% yes

This was a really close one, but the weighted vote comes in as 75.4% Yes / 23.3% No / 1% Don’t Know, which is just above my arbitrary threshold of 75% for Honorary Warrior For Life status.

Congratulations, Damion! His nomination packet along with lots of nice testimonials and back and forth on his value can be found in the original thread.

(The last few seconds of this video is of the moment Steph and Ayesha find out Damion and Sydel will be parents.)

Dub Nation Speaks on Damion Lee

• Alex (25 ♡):

  Damion Lee averaged 21.0 minutes per game during the Warriors' 18-2 start to the 2021-2022 season.

  He was a more consistent floor spacer than a still growing Jordan Poole during the Warriors' most dominant stretch of the regular season, the stretch that earned the team the three seed for the playoffs, finals homecourt advantage, and even more importantly, allowed them the take it easy for large parts of the season without the looming pressure of slipping into the play-in. His steady shot and mercilessly clutch floaters were an important part of the team's offense during that winning stretch.

  His rebounding and hustle were consistently good or great, and his flopping on defense added a dimension to the team that the Warriors have lacked all through the flopping era of the NBA. It also led to some hilarious moments of teams getting a taste of their own medicine, and allowed Lee to at times hang on the floor defensively even when he was being switched onto mismatches in the post, which, over the course of a season, took physical wear and tear off of star players on a team where the main question seemed to be, "can they get through the regular season without getting worn down by playing small?"

  Fans of the team who would say he wasn't a key contributor, as a role player, to the championship season, either weren't paying attention from the beginning of the season on, have short memories, or evaluate players based on flash and the potential they think they see, rather than actual contributions in real games played.

  Yes, Damion Lee is an HWFL.

• Alex (15 ♡):

  Hmmm, let's see: potentially career-derailing injuries, grinded his way through rehab, the G league and 10 day contracts to become a rotation player, then stayed positive and ready as his role fluctuated throughout the season? Sounds like the template for an HWFL to me.

  * Bonus points awarded for being in Dray's ear during the end-of-game benching in the Finals, and Extra Bonus Points for never hunting down and murdering any of the internet brainiacs who delighted in braying the Highly Original and Nuanced idea that he made it into the league not because of the countless hours spent hustling, rehabbing and working on his craft, but because he married Sydel.

• Alas Phood Fight (10 ♡):

  D Lee and JTA were both stellar representatives a certain 'type' of player you want on you team and a type of player that the organization should desire to develop and maintain. These players are not stars by any means, nor are they likely to be rotation guys in the playoffs. They are soldiers. They learn to understand the system. It was said of D Lee that he could play any position on the floor because he knew the offensive and defensive assignments of all positions in all schemes. They stay ready all season to bust ass whenever they are asked and when injuries hit, they are ready for extended run. They are pros off the court, helping the team in any number of ways behind the scenes. They know enough to mentor even younger less experienced players and do so willingly, despite the known fact that these players will be taking their minutes. And they are always first off the bench to cheer the success of their teammates.

  These players are invaluable to teams and loved by coaches. And if you are a second round draft pick or undrafted free agent, this is a NBA job that one ought to aspire to. Rollins, Quinones, Santos, Trevion and other players like them, should all strive to first reach the revered level of the D Lees and JTAs of the NBA. It's the same path Looney took. It's the foundation of Looney's game as a player, and then we got to watch him expand his game and become much more valuable as a player. But it all starts with being a total pro, sacrificing for the team, and following in the hallowed footsteps of the NBA soldier.

  And that is the Warrior's way and that is why D Lee should be honored by this oddball society of Dub fans.

• Trogdor (6 ♡):

  TBH I'm a no. Good guy, solid contributor, good end of the bench role player for a few years.

  But WFL?

  To me, if DL is a WFL then, in my estimation, the default for basically anyone who spends a couple of years on the roster is WFL, unless there's some compelling reason for them not to be.

  For me there needs to be something more than showing up, doing your job, and being a nice guy. There needs to be some sort of cultural impact (JTA), some sort of longevity (Adonal Foyle), some exceptionally memorable moments or games (Barbosa?), exceptional community contributions, etc.

  It's really not that high of a bar, but I think there should be SOME bar. I appreciate DL's contributions, and I wish him well, but frankly? A few years from now I'll probably barely even remember he was on the team.

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David West

It turns out I have quite a backlog of Honorary Warriors For Life winners to induct. I last ran this series late September 2021, and I can’t remember why I stopped. I think it’s because life got busy and on the Warriors front, training camp was wild, with the Langston Galloway / Avery Bradley / Gary Payton II competition and all that.

Let us also welcome our favorite backup center:

• David West. 97.7 / 2.3 / 0

He not only made the 75% threshold, easily, he beat the previous record for vote % (Shaun Livingston at 96.5%). Congratulations to Mr. West who pulled in a huge supporting vote from a rather picky fan base.

Dub Nation Speaks on David West

• Strawman Curry (8 ♡):

  Definitely yes on David West. He, along with Iguodala, was the wisdom of the dynasty.

• Run_TMC (8 ♡):

  Hey I don't usually vote in these things because I don't really care about the vote (though I always thoroughly enjoy reading the articles because of the fun -or not so fun - walks down memory lane) but I love, love, love David West. I know he didn't play that long but he's one of those guys I want on my team. period. exclamation point! Put in my vote for him, please.

• jzalvarado (6 ♡):

  Andre Iguodala, Sean Livingston, David West all need a statue outside Chase for being the pillars in that lockerroom.

• Doc (6 ♡):

  Yes to West for his leadership, sacrifice, and mid range shot.

• g8tgod (5 ♡):

  An absolute 'yes' for David West; the guy left money on the table with a good Spurs team to jump to the Ws. He helped the dynasty Ws win two championships.

David West, a quick remembrance

David West left a lot of money on the table to first join the Spurs and then the Warriors in search of a role on a championship team. He became the veteran leader and part of the foundation of the Dynasty Warriors.

He particularly had a nice connection with Ian Clark. His nice elbow jumpers and passes from the top of the key made the bench hum.

Then he gave one of the all-time great post-championship interviews. “It’s feels better than I thought it would…. You can’t take it with you. The Egyptians learned that!”

After closing out the back-to-back titles, David West retired on top.

And perhaps not coincidentally, the Warriors started falling apart internally. West talked around the issue and vaguely about ego issues.

• 6:00. He says that Steph was managing ego conflicts between Klay, Dray and KD.

• 9:00. He says he wouldn’t have let the KD-Dray bench fight happen.

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