Remembering Jerry West on What Would Have Been His 87th Birthday

Photo credit: Al Seib, 2015 Los Angeles Times.

Today, May 28, 2025 is what would have been the 87th birthday of NBA legend Jerry West. West passed away on June 12, 2024. 

A towering figure in basketball history whose impact makes him stand taller than his 6 feet, 3 inches, West's legacy is far-reaching and thorough, both as a player and as an executive. 

Known as "Zeke from Cabin Creek", an ode to his West Virginia roots, West was born May 28, 1938 in Chelyan, W. Va., and grew up in a tough household - basketball his sanctuary and outlet. 

West stayed local for college, playing four years at West Virginia University, and was the 1959 Final Four Most Outstanding Player. West was first in the nation in scoring as a junior (26.6 points) and senior (29.3).

In 1960, he led the USA Men's Olympic Basketball Team to a Gold Medal in Rome, Italy. West, Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, and Walt Bellamy were the future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers on the squad, a team that on its way to gold averaged a margin of victory of 42.4 points. 

In the 1960 NBA Draft, West was selected second overall by the Minneapolis Lakers, who moved to Los Angeles that off-season. 

A quick bond was formed by West and superstar teammate Elgin Baylor, one that grew into a lifelong friendship. Together, the duo led the Lakers to five NBA Finals appearances from 1962-1968. In 1969, West and Baylor welcomed Wilt Chamberlain to Los Angeles, and the team made four Finals appearances in the next five years (1969, 1970, 1972, 1973).

In 1969, West became the only player to win the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award while on the losing team. Playing through a leg injury, he averaged 37.9 points, 7.4 assists, and 4.7 rebounds on 49 percent shooting from the field in the seven-game defeat to the Boston Celtics. In Game 1, he scored 53 points. 

As former Los Angeles-based sportswriter Doug Krikorian, who counted West as a close friend upon their introduction in 1968 when Krikorian started covering the Lakers, told me in 2024, “Jerry should’ve never played Game 6 in Boston (West tore his hamstring in Game 5). They should’ve at least not let him play that. Jerry still scored 40 in the last game, that’s how great Jerry West was.”

West in fact eclipsed 40 points in the game, posting 42 along with 13 rebounds and 12 assists. He played all 48 minutes and made 14-of-29 shots from the field and 14-of-18 free-throws. 

In the 1971-72 season, West, Chamberlain, and the smooth Gail Goodrich (Baylor retired early in the season) led the Lakers to a then-record 69-13 mark, including a still standing 33 consecutive game winning streak. West averaged 25.8 points per game and led the league in assists with 9.7 per game while back-court mate Goodrich averaged 25.9 points. The Lakers defeated the New York Knicks 4-1 in the Finals that spring. It was West's lone championship. West, on his way to the title, led all playoff players in assists with 134, and averaged 19.8 points and 8.8 assists in the Finals.

He stamped his final season of 1973-74 with yet another all-star appearance, his 14th in his 14 NBA seasons. His 27.0 point per game average for his career is currently the eighth-most in history, and his 25,192 career points are the 28th-most in history. He also averaged 6.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds for his career, was a 47.4% shooter from the field and shot 81.4% on his free-throws. 

As an executive, West is also one of the best ever, playing a crucial role in eight championships - six with the Lakers (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-1988, 2000) and two with the Golden State Warriors (2015, 2017). He was also a two-time Executive of the Year (1995, 2004). Among his shrewd draft decisions were selecting James Worthy with the top choice in 1982 and trading for Kobe Bryant in the 1996 NBA Draft, while also bringing Shaquille O'Neal to Los Angeles that same summer. The Bryant and O'Neal pairing of course formed the cornerstone for the Lakers' titles in 2000, 2001, and 2002. 

West also served as General Manager of the Memphis Grizzlies from 2002-2007. Under West’s leadership, the Grizzlies enjoyed three consecutive playoff appearances from 2003-2006, including a 22-game turnaround from 2002 to West’s first season in 2003 (28 to 50 games). He was an executive board member for the Warriors from 2011-2017 and had held the same role for the Los Angeles Clippers since 2017, playing a part in bringing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to the Clippers. 

"The Logo" and "Mr Clutch" had one of the smoothest jump shots in history - one of the best pull-up jump shots. He knew his spots on the floor and knew how to get to them. His point-per-game averages without a three-point line are truly impressive. A fierce competitor, West held a thirst for winning and a disdain for losing like few in sports history. Humility was also one of his paramount qualities.

As Peter Vecsey told me in 2024, when Chamberlain arrived in the summer of 1968, head coach Bill Sharman approached West and told him that Chamberlain was going to be named team captain.

"I didn't care," West told Vecsey. In fact, West in all his time in Los Angeles was never the Lakers' captain.

Looking at things from an outside view, West, a Laker since 1960, would have had every right to push back. But all Jerry West was concerned with was winning. In a 2015 interview with Graham Bensinger, West was candid with his thoughts on being celebrated after losses.

"I've had two dubious honors that I wouldn't recommend anyone have," said West before mentioning his Most Outstanding Player award in the 1960 Final Four (the Mountaineers lost to the California Golden Bears 71-70 in the national championship) and his '69 Finals MVP. "It was meaningless for me. Regardless of how I played."

In addition to his 14 All-Star appearances and his Finals MVP in ‘69, West made 10 All-NBA 1st teams (1962-1967, 1970-1973), two 2nd teams (1968-1969), and made five All-Defensive teams, four of which were first team, from 1970-1973. In the 1969-70 season, he led the NBA in scoring with an average of 31.2 points on 49.7 percent shooting. In the 1965-66 season, he averaged 31.3 points per game (7.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 47.3% shooting). Four times in his career, he averaged over 30 points. 

At the 2018 All-Star Legends Brunch in Los Angeles, West was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award. He was a 1980 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player, and in 2010 was inducted as part of the 1960 Olympic team. In 2024, he was part of the Hall of Fame class as a contributor. 

He is the only person to be in the Hall as both a player and contributor.