He was a sharpshooting, high-scoring Lakers Hall of Fame guard who later became a franchise executive. His image became the National Basketball Association’s logo.
Walt Frazier guarded Jerry West during the 1972 NBA finals against the New York Knicks. When the Lakers won the title that year, avenging their loss to New York in the 1970 finals, West expressed immense relief following the final game.
Jerry West, who rose from West Virginia coal country to become one of basketball’s best players, a defining figure in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers, and a physical symbol of the sport — his silhouette is on the National Basketball Association logo — died on Wednesday. He was 86. The Los Angeles Clippers reported his death but did not disclose any other details. West served as a consultant for the team in previous years.
West played a pivotal role in the history of the NBA in general, and the Lakers in particular, for four decades, beginning in 1960, when the franchise relocated from Minneapolis to Los Angeles and he was the first draft pick.
He won championships with several generations of Laker teams and Laker stars and was an all-star in each of his 14 seasons. But except for his longtime teammate, the great forward Elgin Baylor, who retired without a championship, there may have never been a greater player who suffered the persistent close-but-no-cigar frustration that followed West for the bulk of his career on the court.
During his career, the Lakers were virtually always in contention for the championship, but West had the misfortune of playing when the Boston Celtics, with Bill Russell at center, were at the pinnacle of their dominance – they defeated the Lakers in the finals six times.
It wasn’t until the Lakers acquired their own giant, Wilt Chamberlain, that they won, and it took four seasons — and a seventh finals setback to the Knicks in 1970 — to do so.
The 1971-72 Lakers won 69 games, a record at the time (the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls won 72 and the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors won 73), including an unrivaled 33-game winning run. When they avenged their loss to the Knicks and won the 1972 title, West remarked after the final game with a huge sense of relief, noting that his desire for the ultimate success began before he entered the league. In 1959, his junior year at West Virginia University, his team advanced to the national championships against California, only to lose by one point.
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