Jerry West shaped NBA events for more than 60 years like few players before and after him. Success was with him wherever he went. He built dynasties and was a mentor to the best basketball players of all time. Now “Mr. Clutch” has died at the age of 86.
He was the man who served as the model for the NBA logo. He shaped the Association for more than 60 years – first as a player, then as a coach, manager and official. He was the architect of perhaps the greatest dynasty in basketball, turned ailing clubs into winners and champions, and was inducted into the basketball hall of fame three times. Basketball icon Jerry West died on Wednesday at the age of 86.
“Jerry West was a basketball genius and a defining figure in our league for more than 60 years,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “Not only was he an NBA champion and All-Star in all 14 seasons as a player, but he was also an unmatched competitor who relished the greatest moments. In other words, ‘Mr. Clutch.’ (…) Jerry’s four decades with the Lakers, as head coach and in the front office, cemented his reputation as one of the greatest executives in sports history. I cherished my friendship with Jerry and the knowledge he always shared with me about basketball and life. On behalf of the NBA, we extend our deepest condolences to Jerry’s wife, Karen, his family and his many friends in the NBA community.”
The assembled NBA diaspora offered their condolences yesterday. West has had a decisive influence on all generations of basketball players since the league’s inception. Michael Jordan wrote: “I am deeply saddened by Jerry’s passing. He was a true friend and mentor, like an older brother to me. I valued his friendship and wisdom very much. I always wished I could have competed with him, but the more I got to know him, the more I wished I could have been his teammate. I always admired his view of basketball, we were very similar in many ways. My condolences to his wife and sons. We will miss him forever. RIP, Logo.”
Always an All-Star, finally a champion
Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who enjoyed his greatest successes under West, said: “Jerry West was more than a general manager, he was a great friend and confidant. He was there for me in my greatest moments, like the five NBA titles, as well as my darkest, when I made my HIV diagnosis public and we cried for hours in his office. More than just a basketball player and official, he was above all a great man, a leader who loved his family and friends more than anything. Today is a sad day for basketball fans around the world.”
After he excelled as a college player at his hometown of West Virginia University – including being named most valuable player in the 1959 Final Four – the Lakers drafted him second overall in 1960. The move from Minneapolis to Los Angeles that same summer was the start of an unparalleled professional career in purple and gold. Before his first NBA game, he won gold for the USA at the Olympic Games in Rome alongside Oscar Robertson.
The youngster established himself as one of the best guards in the best league in the world right from day one thanks to his athleticism, shooting accuracy and defensive strength. West was on the All-Star team and in the playoffs in each of his 14 professional seasons for the Lakers, was selected to the All-NBA team twelve times and to the All-Defensive team five times. He finished his career with an average of 27.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists.
To this day, West remains the only Finals MVP (1969) from the losing team. To this day, no one has scored more points in the Finals than West (1,679). Year after year, he and his Lakers were defeated by the all-powerful Boston Celtics. In 1972, he finally achieved the long-awaited triumph in the Finals at the eighth attempt, winning the championship trophy alongside Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Gail Goodrich.
The best official of all time
West has appeared in the NBA Finals a total of nine times. Only Bill Russell, Sam Jones and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have made more than West’s 55 appearances there. Only Michael Jordan (33.4) and Kevin Durant (29.3) have a higher career scoring average in the playoffs than West’s 29.1 points per game (minimum 75 appearances). When he ended his active career in 1974, he was the third-best scorer of all time, behind Chamberlain and Robertson. Even today, with his 25,192 points, he is still among the top 30 scorers of all time.
After retiring from active basketball in 1974, West worked as a scout and assistant coach at the request of the then visionary Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke. Between 1976 and 1979 he took over as Lakers head coach, won 145 of 246 games and led the Purple & Gold to the Conference Finals. After three years as a talent evaluator, he was promoted to general manager in 1982 – and in this role built the iconic “Showtime” dynasty around Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy. The Lakers won five championships in the 1980s and thrilled fans with electrifying, unprecedented basketball. The team’s coach was Pat Riley. “I love Jerry West. We loved being Lakers together. That was sacred to us,” declared the current president of the Miami Heat in an emotional tribute to his old companion.
“We matured side by side and shared the best and worst moments in life. We can only hope to meet someone in life who changes us profoundly. Jerry was that person for me. All of those moments and memories come flooding back to me today, in a waterfall of tears. It’s as if it was yesterday that we were enjoying burgers and milkshakes and custard with whipped cream after the shootaround before taking a nap before the evening game.”
In the 1990s, after the demise of the Showtime Lakers, West renewed his beloved Lakers once again when, within weeks, he traded for the draft rights to a 17-year-old high school player and brought Kobe Bryant to Los Angeles. Together with Shaquille O’Neal, he soon formed an almost invincible star duo, coached by Phil Jackson, whom West signed in 1999. The Lakers won another three titles in a row in 2000, 2001 and 2002. West is officially only credited with the first because he resigned from his position as Lakers manager in the summer of 2000 after 18 years in the job. However, there is no doubt in the NBA community as to who orchestrated the last “three-peat” since then.
More successes, more titles
Between 2002 and 2007, West took over as general manager of the catatonic Memphis Grizzlies, who at that point had lost more than 70 percent of their games in every year of their existence (since 1995). West sought the new challenge of managing a far less glamorous club than the Lakers. He led the Grizzlies to their first successful seasons ever, the first three playoff appearances in franchise history, and was awarded the “Executive of the Year Award” for the best manager of the year – for the second time after 1995, when he was still a Laker.
In 2011, he joined the Golden State Warriors as part of the management team. The then new team owner, Joe Lacob, was keen to have West on board to completely transform the long-ailing Warriors and turn them into winners. West was involved in all personnel decisions and, thanks to his unique experience and expertise, helped lay the foundation for a Dubs dynasty. The selection of Klay Thompson with the eleventh pick in the draft was also West’s idea, as was the signing of Kevin Durant as a free agent – one of the best transactions in NBA history. Golden State reached the NBA Finals five times in a row and six times in eight years and won four championships (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022).
West left the Warriors after their second championship – “one of the saddest days of my life,” as he later said – and joined the LA Clippers in 2017, where he has worked as a board member and consultant since then. He was instrumental in signing Paul George and Kawhi Leonard and established the Clippers as one of the league’s most successful clubs since then. Only four teams have won more games since the 2017-18 season than the Clippers, who reached the Conference Finals for the first time in their franchise history in 2021.
Royal basketball eminence
There are few people in NBA history who had more impact and influence. Right up until the end, West was considered an absolute basketball eminence. At Summer League games in Las Vegas, he regularly sat courtside and greeted one player after another, all of whom came up to him to shake his hand. LeBron James was one of them. “I will truly miss our conversations, my dear friend,” James tweeted. “My thoughts and prayers go out to your wonderful family. Love forever, Jerry. Rest in peace, buddy.”
West was known for his stubbornness, persistence and nervous perfectionism. He was rarely satisfied with his own performance. Contemporaries called him the greatest competitor they had ever met, an obsessive who hated to lose and accepted nothing but greatness. As a child, he would throw at a basket nailed to the side of a shed, often until his fingers bled. If he missed, he would often have to chase the ball for minutes as it rolled down a precipice.
West later revealed in his memoir “West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life” that basketball was his therapy. In it, he described a lifelong battle with depression, triggered by an abusive father and a childhood of no love and anger. He often felt worthless, and to counteract this, he put all of his energy into basketball.
“I was a dreamer,” West once said. “My family didn’t have much, but I used to stare from our porch at the Appalachian Mountains in front of our house and wonder what I would see on the other side if I ever made it to the top of the mountain. Well, I made it to the other side, and my dreams came true. All thanks to that bouncing ball…”