Some deeply saddening news broke on Wednesday morning when it was announced that Los Angeles Lakers legend Jerry West passed away at the age of 86.
West is one of the most important figures in Lakers history for the work he did as a player and executive. He brought L.A. its first championship as a player in 1972 and then was responsible for several others in his post-playing days.
He was the team’s general manager when they brought both Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal to town, and then eventually Phil Jackson, which started a three-peat.
It is also worth mentioning that West is a Hall of Famer, 14-time All-Star, 12-time All-NBA player, five-time All-Defensive player and Finals MVP in 1969.
There are a ton of accolades associated in West’s playing career, but he also was a one-of-a-kind person that truly cared about basketball. To say it is a tremendous loss is an understatement, and Jackson spoke on the impact West made on the basketball community, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Well, it’s a sad day in the NBA. Jerry has been a vibrant, dynamic force in the league for as long as he played, as long as he’s coached, and been a general manager. Jerry was a promoter of the NBA, a great mind, talent search guy, he had a lot of insights into the game. We had a big loss today in the NBA.”
While West ultimately hired Jackson to coach the Lakers, which resulted in five championships for L.A., the latter also had a playing career spending most of his time with the New York Knicks. So back in the late 60s and early 70s, he got to go against West as a player and complimented his competitiveness, in addition to his role in bringing Bryant and O’Neal to Los Angeles:
“Well, he was a great competitor. I got a call from him early on in my stay with the Lakers in 99′ before we really got rolling, got a new facility in El Segundo and he said, ‘I got a call from Kobe.’ He’s concerned about his scoring, he’s only averaging 17-18 points a game and he wanted to know how Elgin Baylor and I averaged over 30 points a game in the 60s Lakers team that won four to five championship rounds with the Celtics. I said, ‘Well, I understand, that was high volume basketball in those days and we run the triangle, a more paced game.’ We wanted to slow it down a little bit, control the game and the tempo. He may have trouble averaging 30 points, if Shaq is averaging 29. But, Kobe was appeased, he found his way, how to play in the game and he was excellent in it. Jerry had a bring hand in bringing Kobe to the game and also Shaquille to the Lakers.
No doubt that no one will forget West’s legacy, specifically what he brought to the NBA as a player and executive. But Jackson brings up how he constructed championship-contending rosters and he does not want anyone to forget how crucial of a piece to the puzzle he was.
Pat Riley gives heartfelt statement on death of Jerry West
While losing a legend like Jerry West is never easy, it serves as a moment to share stories about how captivating of a person he was. Former Lakers head coach Pat Riley took a moment to share a heartfelt statement, who he worked alongside for many years.
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