Jerry West

Jerry Alan West (May 28, 1938 – June 12, 2024) was an American basketball player and executive.

He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. His nicknames included "the Logo", in reference to his silhouette being the basis for the NBA logo; "Mr. Clutch", for his ability to make a big play in a key situation such as his famous buzzer-beating 60-foot shot that tied Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks; "Mr. Outside", in reference to his perimeter play with the Lakers and "Zeke from Cabin Creek" for the creek near his birthplace of Chelyan, West Virginia.

West played the small forward position early in his career: he was a standout at East Bank High School and at West Virginia University, where he led the Mountaineers to the 1959 NCAA championship game. He earned the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player honor despite the loss in the championship. He then embarked on a 14-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers and was the co-captain of the 1960 U.S. Olympic gold medal team, a squad that was inducted as a unit into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

West's NBA career was highly successful. Playing the guard position, he was voted 12 times into the All-NBA First and Second Teams, was elected into the NBA All-Star Team 14 times and was chosen as the All-Star MVP in 1972, the same year that he won the only title of his career. West holds the NBA record for the highest points per game average in a playoff series with 46.3. He was also a member of the first five NBA All-Defensive Teams (one second, followed by four firsts), which were introduced when he was 32 years old. Having played in nine NBA Finals, he is also the only player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP despite being on the losing team (1969). In 1980, West was inducted into the Hall of Fame and named to the NBA 35th Anniversary Team. West was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, and to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.

After his playing career ended, West took over as head coach of the Lakers for three years. He led Los Angeles into the playoffs each year and earned a Western Conference finals berth once. Working as a player-scout for three years, West was named general manager of the Lakers before the 1982–83 NBA season. Under his reign, Los Angeles won six championship rings. In 2002, West became general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies and helped the franchise win their first-ever playoff berths. For his contributions, West won the NBA Executive of the Year Award twice: once as a Lakers manager (1995) and then as a Grizzlies manager (2004). He won two more NBA titles as a consultant with the Golden State Warriors (2015, 2017). In 2024, he was inducted to the Hall of Fame as a contributor to the sport as an executive and consultant.

Early life

West was born into a poor household in Chelyan, West Virginia, on May 28, 1938. He was the fifth of six children of Cecil Sue West, a housewife, and Howard Stewart West, a coal mine electrician. West's father physically abused him, and West has stated that for a time he slept with a loaded shotgun under his bed out of fear that he might have to kill his father in self-defense.

West was an outgoing and aggressive child in his youth. In 1951, his older brother, David, was killed in action in the Korean War, and the grief turned him into a shy and introverted boy. Growing up, West spent his days hunting and fishing, but his main activity was shooting at a basketball hoop that a neighbor had nailed to his storage shed. West spent days shooting baskets from every possible angle, ignoring mud and snow in the backyard, as well as his mother's whippings when he came home hours late for dinner.

West attended East Bank High School in East Bank, West Virginia, from 1952 to 1956. During his first year, West was benched by his coach Duke Shaver due to his lack of height. Shaver emphasized the importance of conditioning and defense, which were lessons that the teenager appreciated. West soon became the captain of the freshman team, and during the summer of 1953 he grew to 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m). West eventually became the team's starting small forward, and he quickly established himself as one of the finest West Virginia high school players of his generation. He represented East Bank High School at a high level on and off the court, attending the 1955 session of Mountaineer Boys State and was named All-State from 1953 to 1956, then All-American in 1956 when he was West Virginia Player of the Year, becoming the state's first high-school player to score more than 900 points in a season, with an average of 32.2 points per game. West's mid-range jump shot became his trademark and he often used it to score while under pressure from opposing defenses. West led East Bank to a state championship on March 24 that year, prompting East Bank High School to change its name to "West Bank High School" every year on March 24 in honor of their basketball prodigy. This practice remained in effect until the school closed in 1999.

Player profile

West was an all-around combo guard who could take the playmaking roles of a point guard and score like a shooting guard, while being equally strong on offense and defense. He had a jump shot with a release the NBA lauded as "lightning quick", and was known for making baskets late in the game, earning him the nickname "Mr. Clutch". Having played forward early in his career, he was also a capable rebounder, and gifted with long arms, quick hands, and strong defensive instincts. He was also described as one of the best ballhawks, man-to-man defenders and shot blockers among NBA guards: when the All-Defensive Teams were introduced in 1969, he made every one of them until his career ended in 1974. "He stole more than anybody, although they didn't keep records on it then", said Sharman. Contemporaries were most impressed by his work ethic, practicing, shooting and, rarely satisfying himself.

West's all-round game and attitude is maybe best expressed in his statistically most spectacular game: he once was credited with 44 points (16 of 17 shots from the field, 12 of 12 free throw attempts) with 12 rebounds, 12 assists, and (unofficially counted) 10 blocked shots, thus scoring a non-official ultra-rare quadruple double. He commented: "Defensively, from a team standpoint, I didn't feel I played very well. Very rarely was I satisfied with how I played."

Personal life

West married his college sweetheart Martha Jane Kane in April 1960 in Morgantown; they divorced in 1976. They had three sons: David, Mark, and Michael.

Jerry married his second wife, Kristine "Karen" Bua, in 1978. They had two sons, Ryan and Jonnie. Ryan is an executive with the Detroit Pistons. Jonnie played guard for West's college team, the West Virginia Mountaineers, is director of Basketball Operations for the Golden State Warriors, and married professional golfer Michelle Wie in 2019.

West was often described as an introverted and nervous character, but he also drew the highest praise for his uncompromising work ethic. Regarding his shyness, WVU roommate Jody Gardner testified that West never dated in his entire freshman year, and Lakers coach Fred Schaus once recalled two weeks when his guard never said a word. Apart from being shy, West was always restless: Schaus described him as a "bundle of nerves", Celtics contemporary Bob Cousy said West "was always on the move", and fellow Laker and Mountaineer Rod Hundley testified that during bar visits, West would quickly squirm and demand to go elsewhere before everybody else had settled. His first wife Martha Kane recalled that her husband often had difficulties opening up to her. After a big loss, the Wests would drive home and she would try to console him, but West would say "get out" at the home porch and drive away—an experience that "killed" her as a wife.

Early in his career, West's West Virginian roots made him a target for some mild jeering. He spoke with a high-pitched voice that became even shriller when he became excited so that Lakers captain Elgin Baylor dubbed West "Tweety Bird". His Appalachian accent was so thick that one coach interrupted him and asked him to speak English. Baylor once commented: "Rumors are safe with you, Tweety Bird. You pass them on, but nobody can understand you."

West was also regarded for his extreme mental toughness and his exemplary work ethic. The NBA said he had "obsessive perfectionism, unabashed confidence, and an uncompromising will to win... a level of intensity so high it could melt lead". Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn once said: "He took a loss harder than any player I've ever known. He would sit by himself and stare into space. A loss just ripped his guts out." Even before his sole championship in 1972, the Lakers held a "Jerry West Night", and eleven-time NBA champion and perennial rival Bill Russell appeared and said: "Jerry, you are, in every sense of the word, truly a champion... If I could have one wish granted, it would be that you would always be happy."

In 2011, West and bestselling author Jonathan Coleman wrote a memoir entitled West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life. The book had tremendous critical acclaim and became an instant New York Times bestseller. During an interview on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, West revealed that as a child he was the victim of physical abuse from his father and has suffered from depression ever since.

West was portrayed in the 2022 HBO docudrama series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty as a temperamental, foul-mouthed executive, prone to angry outbursts and mood swings. On April 19, 2022, West demanded a retraction from the network within two weeks for the "cruel" and "deliberately false" depiction, as played by actor Jason Clarke.

West died in Los Angeles on June 12, 2024, at the age of 86. A moment of silence was held in West's memory before Game 3 of the ongoing NBA Finals between the Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks that night.