OAKLAND — David West, the Warriors’ brawny bookworm, opened the NBA playoffs with his nose in a bestseller called “Ego Is the Enemy.”

In it, author Ryan Holiday writes that by conquering ego, “You will be liberated to accomplish the world-changing work you’ve set out to achieve.”

West is reading it, but he could have written it: The two-time All-Star has sacrificed the two things NBA players hold most dear — money and minutes — in pursuit of a championship that is now within range.

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Nuggets make history, Clippers flunk chemistry The 14-year veteran is at the doorstep of his first NBA Finals. To get there, the Warriors must maneuver past his old team, the San Antonio Spurs in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals that open Sunday.

It makes for a compelling subplot. West gave up a sure $11 million a year ago because he thought signing with the Spurs gave him his best shot at a title.

West opted out of a $12.6 million deal with the Indiana Pacers and signed in San Antonio for the lowest salary he could take: $1.5 million, the veteran’s minimum.

“It’s not a big deal to me,” West shrugged during a recent interview with the Bay Area News Group at the Warriors’ practice facility.

“I think it’s just the nature of people. We’re a money-hungry, money-driven society and I think that’s on the minds of a lot of folks.

“It’s about the dollar, the dollar, the dollar. (But) basketball is one of those things I didn’t start playing originally for money and I still have the passion and the love to just play.”

As it turned out, he got neither the money nor the ring. San Antonio lost in last year’s Western Conference semifinals, meaning West gave up all that cash just to make it one round further than his old Pacers team did.

Last summer, West pushed in his chips with the Warriors, again signing for the veteran minimum. As with the Spurs, he also took a diminished role, averaging career-lows in minutes per game (16.6) and rebounds per game (3.0). As the third center in the Warriors’ three-man rotation, West had the lowest scoring average (4.6) since his rookie season.

For first time since being drafted with the 18th overall pick in 2003, he didn’t start a single game.

And West, 36, is as happy as ever.

“I’m proud that I’ve been able to come full circle,” he said. “I was starting out playing for nothing just because you love to play, love to compete. I’m sort of finishing up the same way.”

West fits the Golden State “Strength in Numbers” ethos by playing selflessly for the greater good. In his case, there is also strength in strength. West’s role off the bench is to open the second and fourth quarters, as well as to provide 6-foot-9 inches and 250 pounds of don’t-mess-with-me.

Best part of the Durant-Gobert tussle was David West's reaction: Dude just loves physicality pic.twitter.com/5cr1gwjOmj — Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 7, 2017

A point guard in his early high school days, West remains the type of deft passer the Warriors require in the paint. He leads the NBA playoffs in assists per turnover ratio (5.25).

West is the team’s roughest, toughest … and wisest. He is the player other Warriors would most want beside them if a fight broke out, as well as the one they would most want as their college professor.

“Definitely,” reserve guard Ian Clark said. “He shows that all the time, not just on the floor but in the locker room. … He definitely knows a lot, and guys respect him and listen to him.”

Shaun Livingston said: “He’s like the supervisor of just making sure we’re all on point. He’s well-respected throughout this league and throughout this organization.”

West earned his degree in communications at Xavier, but he spends his bus rides these days focusing on history, especially African-American history. Long before former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick created a stir by kneeling during the national anthem, West launched a subtler protest by standing 2 feet behind his teammates during the national anthem as a statement about racial justice.

“Humanize people,” he said in October. “Our issue has been to step on a level playing field with humanity. … It’s not about an anthem. We need to humanize who we are, what we are.”

West has no use for Kindle — he wants to read real pages on real paper — and often chooses his material based on recommendations from the Warriors’ coaching staff.

“I try to put things into a historical context, try to relate to what we’re doing today, how things are functioning now.” West said. “I just try to view the world and things that are happening in society through a historical lens. I think that gives us the most clarity as to why things are the way they are.”

The funny thing about West’s reputation as a ferocious competitor and a dedicated scholar is that once upon a time he had no interest in either.

Evan Turner turned around like he was ready to rumble, saw it was David West and was like 'nah, I'm good.' — Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 23, 2017

As a kid, he had such a rough go of it at Teaneck (New Jersey) High School that when West’s family moved to North Carolina during his teenage years, he abandoned the idea of playing basketball again.

Eddie Gray, the longtime basketball coach at Garner Magnet High, recalls the day he saw the shy new kid in the lobby.

“I wanted to know if he played basketball because he was one of the tallest kids I’d seen in a while,” Gray said in a phone interview. “And he told me he didn’t like basketball. He didn’t want to play anymore. I said, ‘Hold on, now. You’re in the South. We do things a little different. You might enjoy it. Think about it.’ ”

Gray played it cool during that initial conversation with West but once it was over he raced to find Drew Cook, his assistant coach. “And I said, ‘Drew, if you don’t get this kid out for basketball, you’re fired.’ ”

West’s individual skills blossomed, but he also got his first look at the perils of selfish teammates. The tight-knit seniors on his team had no interest in strength in numbers. Finally, Gray had to tell West: “If they’re not going to pass you the ball, just go get the rebound and put it back.”

“And that’s exactly what he did,” he added.

Even then, West was the quiet guy with the imposing air of a frontier sheriff. Draymond Green has described West’s personality as “no bull—.”

He also believes in no bullies.

“There were a couple of kids picking on a kid with special needs,” Gray recalled. “He stood up for that kid. And I just remember that.

“He was soft-spoken, but he was a guy you didn’t want to mess with. And on the basketball court? He was just tenacious. He just hated to lose.”

West had earned rotten grades in New Jersey but that, too, turned around at Garner High. He sat in the front row, added insight to class discussions and dove deep into his history books. (In recent years, West has told Gray that he wants to return to Garner as a teacher once his NBA days are over. Gray believes him.)

Because of his bad start in Teaneck, West still needed a postgraduate year at the Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia, to solidify his college credentials.

Xavier coach Skip Prosser offered him a scholarship only after another Musketeers player decided to transfer.

Upon arrival, West established himself as a legendary competitor. Kevin Frey, a former teammate, recalled by phone that players used to play summer pick-up games to keep their skills sharp.

To add spice, team managers kept a running tally in the locker room of which players won the most games.

“When you went into the locker room, you would look at those tally marks and David would have three times as much as anybody else,” Frey said. “And he was so competitive, he wanted it to be four times as much.

“He was cool about it. He wasn’t a jerk or anything. … But he wanted to win. Every possession, every play.”

In a story that might delight Warriors fans as they aim for a third straight NBA Finals trip, Tom Eiser, the Xavier associate athletic director for communications, remembered how West flourished against hostile crowds.

The University of Dayton, in particular, used to taunt the daylights out of West with screams and jeers.

“I think some of the best players you could say this about: Not only does it not bother them, but they seem to play better when they get heckled by the visiting crowd,” Eiser said.

“David was like that. I remember when we were on the bus heading to Dayton, you’d hear David basically humming the ‘Go, Dayton Flyers’ chant that they do at the games. He was almost firing himself up for what was coming.”

Now, the guy who loves basketball and history is about to get a taste of both. The Warriors head into the Spurs series having won eight consecutive playoff games for the first time since the franchise was born.

West has made it this far twice before, playing in the Eastern Conference finals with the Pacers in 2012-13 and 2013-14. Once a prolific scorer, he torched the Spurs for 38 points in a playoff game on May 13, 2008 while playing for the New Orleans Hornets.

He might not get that all series, but that’s not why he’s here. The man who once turned down $11 million in search of a single ring long ago embraced the idea that ego is the enemy.

“Life is a serious undertaking,” West said. “We only get one, so you want to maximize and do everything you can to enjoy it and get fulfillment out of it.

“You can’t waste moments.”

— Bay Area News Group staff writers Courtney Cronin and Tim Kawakami contributed to this report.