Jerry West

Jerry West (born May 28, 1938, Chelyan, West Virginia, U.S.—died June 12, 2024) was an American basketball player, coach, and general manager who spent four noteworthy decades with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). West is widely considered one of the sport’s greatest players and later was hugely influential as a coach and executive. Perhaps the greatest testament to his enduring impact on basketball is the fact that a photo of West serves as the model for the ubiquitous red, white, and blue NBA logo.

Early life

A frail youth, West overcame his early physical shortcomings by putting in long hours practicing his shot and developing the quick release that would become his signature. He grew dramatically during the summer before his senior year and then led his high school to a state championship, drawing the attention of colleges nationwide. As a sharpshooting 6-foot 3-inch (1.91-meter) guard for West Virginia University, West became the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, and he was twice named an All-American (1959, 1960).

Playing career: Los Angeles Lakers and Olympics

West was drafted by the Lakers with the second overall pick of the 1960 NBA draft. The reserved West was initially thought by some to be an ill fit for Los Angeles, but he readily acclimated to the L.A. media spotlight and proved to be one of the most popular figures in franchise history. (His early, derisive nickname “Zeke from Cabin Creek”—which he despised—was not even an accurate reference to his proper hometown of Cheylan but rather referred to a nearby unincorporated area.) He compiled a career scoring average of 27.0 points per game, failing to average more than 20 points per game in just his rookie season, and he was named an All-Star in each of his 14 seasons in the league.

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As spectacular as his individual achievements were, his Lakers teams did not reach a similar level of success in an era dominated by the Boston Celtics: West led his team to nine berths in the NBA finals, but the Lakers won just one championship (1972). In addition to his professional and collegiate accomplishments, West was a member of the U.S. men’s basketball team that won the gold medal at the Rome 1960 Olympic Games.

Coach and executive

After his retirement in 1974, West served as the Lakers’ head coach for three seasons (1976–79), guiding them to 145 wins and 101 losses over that span. West then spent three years as a scout for the Lakers before becoming the team’s general manager in 1982. He shaped squads that won five NBA titles between 1982 and 2000, his final year with the franchise. West worked in the front office of the Memphis Grizzlies from 2002 to 2007, assembling the first playoff teams for the young franchise. His front-office acumen led to two NBA Executive of the Year awards (1995, 2004).

In 2011 West became an adviser to the Golden State Warriors, as well as a member of the team’s executive board. The Warriors revolutionized basketball during West’s time as an adviser, winning two NBA titles (2015, 2017) and setting a new standard for offensive efficiency. Shortly after Golden State won its second title with West in the front office, he left the franchise to become a consultant with the Los Angeles Clippers.

West was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980 and in 1996 was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. In 2019 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

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