NBA Legendary Hall-of-Famer Dies at 86
By Dorothy J. Gentry
Sports Editor
His legacy was cemented decades ago.
He played his entire 14-year NBA career for the same team – the Los Angeles Lakers. He earned an All-Star selection every single year he was in the league. He’s an NBA champion (1972-72). He racked up 25,192 career points in a Lakers uniform.
He traded then-Laker Vlade Divac for a high schooler named Kobe Bryant. He was elected to the Hall of Fame a record 3 times as a player and team executive.
And he’ll be forever remembered as the silhouette of the iconic NBA logo.
Jerry West died Wednesday at his home at the age of 86. The legendary baller led the Lakers to the NBA Finals nine times, winning one title in 1971-72. He was also a 12-time All-NBA selection, an NBA Finals MVP as part of a losing team in 1969 — the first year that award was given out and still the only time it went to a player on the losing team — and part of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.
Tributes poured in from all over on social media including from teams, players, teammates, opponents, admirers, fans, executives and more.
“He was a legend. We’re all going to miss him. He’s the logo. He was an amazing player,: aid Luka Doncic. : I wasn’t born yet but I saw some highlights and he was an amazing player.”
“When you talk about the logo…Jerry was a gentleman to everyone. He was the best. When you talk about history; when you talk about the game of basketball and what he stood for, he was it,” said Mavs Head Coach Jason Kidd ahead of the NBA Finals Game 3 at American Airlines Center.
“Jerry West was a basketball genius and a defining figure in our league for more than 60 years,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “He distinguished himself not only as an NBA champion and an All-Star in all 14 of his playing seasons, but also as a consummate competitor who embraced the biggest moments.”
Silver, who was in attendance at the Mavs vs Celtics Game 3, also said in his statement that he “valued” his friendship with West and the “knowledge he shared with me over many years about basketball and life. On behalf of the NBA, we send our deepest condolences to Jerry’s wife, Karen, his family and his many friends in the NBA community.”
Other tributes coming in included from LA Clippers Coach Ty Lue, whom West drafted, the Memphis Grizzlies with whom West served as general manager in 2002, and the legendary Oscar Robertson. Robertson and West were teammates on the 1960 Gold-medal winning Olympic basketball team and met throughout their careers on the basketball court.
“I do not have words at this moment to express how I feel,” Robertson said in a statement. “…Will always have love in my heart for 44.”
Dorothy Gentry is an award-winning journalist, PR pro and educator. A University of North Texas alum, she is the Sports Editor for Texas Metro News, Garland Journal and I Messenger.
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