Former NBA Champion Jerry West Dies, Was 86
Jerry West
According to news re ports, Jerry West, a three time Basketball Hall of Famer whose silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo, has died this past week. He was 86.
The NBA has never con firmed the worst-kept secret in basketball, that Jerry West is the player whose silhouette is depicted in the league’s logo. There’s prob ably a reason for that: West never wanted to be the logo. “I’m just part of the game,” West said in a 2021 inter view. “I never wanted to be any more than that. I’m extremely fortunate to have had the life that I’ve had, and that’s enough for me.”
His was a life like few others: an NBA and Olympic champion as a player, a champion as an executive and someone selected to be enshrined by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame not once, not twice, but three times. West died on Wednesday (June 12th) at age 86, the Los Angeles Clippers announced.
“We can only hope there is someone we meet during a crucial time in our lives that will change you in ways you could dream about,” said Miami Heat President Pat Riley, who played with and worked with West during their time together as Los Angeles Lakers. “Jerry was that person for me.”
West, nicknamed “Mr. Clutch” for his late-game exploits as a player, went into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1980 and again as a member of the gold medal-win ning 1960 U.S. Olympic Team in 2010. He will been shrined for a third time later this year as a contributor, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called West “one of the greatest executives in sports history.”
“He helped build eight championship teams during his tenure in the NBA — a legacy of achievement that mirrors his on-court excellence,” Silver said. “And he will be enshrined this October into the Naismith Basket ball Hall of Fame as a contributor, becoming the first person ever inducted as both a player and a contributor. I valued my friendship with Jerry and the knowledge he shared with me over many years about basketball and life.”
West was “the personifica tion of basketball excellence and a friend to all who knew him,” the Clippers said in an nouncing his death. West’s wife, Karen, was by his side when he died, the Clippers said. West worked for the Clippers as a consultant for the last seven years.
He was an All-Star in all 14 of his NBA seasons, a 12 time All-NBA selection, part of the 1972 Lakers team that won a championship, an NBA Finals MVP when the Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics in 1969 — the first year that award was given out, and still the only time it went to a player on the los ing team — and was selected as part of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.