On Wednesday morning, the Los Angeles Clippers announced the passing of Jerry West, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on three separate occasions during his distinguished career as both a player and executive. His silhouette is widely recognized as the inspiration for the NBA logo. 86 was his age.
A Storied Career: From NBA Player to Executive
West, dubbed “Mr. Clutch” for his late-game heroics as a player, was an NBA champion who was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1980 and as a member of the gold medal-winning 1960 United States Olympic Team in 2010. In August, he will be inducted for the third time as a contributor.
West was “the personification of basketball excellence and a friend to all who knew him,” the Clippers stated. The team emphasized that West’s wife, Karen, was at his side when he died. West has spent the last seven years working as a consultant with the Clippers.
He was an All-Star in all 14 of his NBA seasons, a 12-time All-NBA selection, a member of the championship-winning 1972 Los Angeles Lakers squad, an NBA Finals MVP as part of a losing team in 1969, and a member of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.
The Legacy of Jerry West a.k.a. “Mr. Clutch”
West was the general manager of eight NBA championship teams with the Lakers, contributing to the “Showtime” dynasty. He has had front-office positions with the Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, and Los Angeles Clippers. Among his numerous accomplishments as a Lakers executive: he selected Magic Johnson and James Worthy before bringing in Kobe Bryant and, ultimately, Shaquille O’Neal to play alongside Bryant.
Even in his dying years, West was regarded as basketball royalty. He often sat courtside at Summer League games in Las Vegas, sometimes watching several games in one day while meeting lengthy lines of players, including LeBron James, who approached to shake his hand and offer him homage.
He’s ranked 25th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, and although the league has never acknowledged that West was the basis for its emblem — a person dribbling a ball against a red-and-blue backdrop — it has also never denied this.
An Indelible Figure in Basketball
Tributes from throughout the sporting world poured in fast after West’s death. The Los Angeles Dodgers issued a statement describing West as “an indelible figure on the Los Angeles sports landscape for more than 60 years,” while the NBA announced a pregame tribute to West before Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
“Jerry West is one of my favorite people that I had the pleasure of getting to know in the NBA,” Miami Heat managing general partner Micky Arison said. “He welcomed me to the league, supplied advise from the first day, and asked for nothing in return. “He’ll be missed.”
Early Life and Personal Struggles
West, a native of Chelyan, West Virginia, was renowned as a tough player who was seldom happy with his performances. He grew up shooting at a hoop affixed to the side of a shed, sometimes firing until his fingers bled. He became the only high school player in state history to score more than 900 points in a single season, averaging 32.2 points while guiding East Bank High to the state championship. Basketball, he would later admit, was his therapy.
West’s book, West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life, details his lifelong struggle with depression. He said that his upbringing was devoid of love and filled with rage as a consequence of an abusive father. He frequently felt useless, therefore he stated he focused his attention on playing the game.
West led West Virginia University — where he is still the all-time scoring average leader — to the NCAA finals in 1959, but the Mountaineers fell to California by one point.
West won gold in the 1960 Summer Olympics and joined the Lakers the following year, where he played his whole professional career. He was named one of the league’s 50 best players in 1996, and when the league increased the vote to 75 players to celebrate its 75th anniversary, West was chosen again.
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