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Jerry West dies at 86: the NBA world mourns the death of the legendary Lakers player and executive

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Jerry West dies at 86 the NBA world mourns the

Jerry West, the legendary player and executive whose silhouette is the inspiration for the NBA logo, died Wednesday at the age of 86, the Clippers announced.

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West, the second overall pick in the 1960 NBA Draft, played 14 years in the NBA, all for the Lakers. He was a 14-time All-Star and 12-time All-NBA selection, and finished second in MVP voting four times.

While West never won a title as a player, he was named MVP of the 1968-69 NBA Finals as part of the losing team. In the seven-game series loss to the Celtics, he averaged 37.9 points, 7.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds on 49% shooting from the field.

West led the NBA in scoring the following season with 31.2 points per game. In his career, all of which predated the introduction of the 3-point line, he averaged 27.0 points, 6.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds.

He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979, and his number 44 was retired by the Lakers in 1983.

Following his playing career, he coached Los Angeles for three seasons, going 145-101 between 1976 and 1979. He then became the team’s general manager before the 1982-83 season, and is largely credited with having turned the Lakers into a dynasty in the 1980s, leading the Lakers to championships in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988. He was later named NBA Executive of the Year in 1995.

West’s last year as Lakers general manager was in 1999-2000, but his moves in the late 1990s set the stage for the Lakers dynasty of the 2000s.

In 1996, West traded Vlade Divac to the Hornets for the 13th overall pick, which the Lakers used on Kobe Bryant. That same offseason, Los Angeles signed Shaquille O’Neal with the cap space freed up by leaving Divac. And before the 1999-2000 season, West hired Phil Jackson as head coach.

With the core of Bryant, O’Neal and Jackson, the Lakers won the NBA Finals in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Bryant and Jackson won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.

West was named general manager of the Grizzlies in 2002-03 and held the position for five seasons. While at Memphis, he won the Executive of the Year award in 2004, when Memphis went from 28-54 in his first year as general manager to 50-32 the following season. Memphis made the playoffs three consecutive years from 2003-04 to 2005-06, but was swept each year.

He served as a member of the Warriors’ board of directors for six years starting in 2011, and was with the team for titles in 2014-15 and 2016-17. West became a consultant and member of the Clippers’ board of directors from 2017 until his death.

West received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019, the highest honor that can be awarded to a civilian in the United States.

Jerry West Statistics

Season Age GRAM MPG FG-FGA (FG%) FT-FTA (FT%) PPG role playing game APG
1960-61 22 79 35.4 6.7-16 (41.9%) 4.2-6.3 (66.6%) 17.6 7.7 4.2
1961-62 23 75 41.2 10.7-23.9 (44.5%) 9.5-12.3 (76.9%) 30.8 7.9 5.4
1962-63 24 55 39.3 10.2-22.1 (46.1%) 6.7-8.7 (77.8%) 27.1 7 5.6
1963-64 25 72 40.4 10.3-21.2 (48.4%) 8.1-9.8 (83.2%) 28.7 6 5.6
1964-65 26 74 41.4 11.1-22.4 (49.7%) 8.8-10.7 (82.1%) 31 6 4.9
1965-66 27 79 40.7 10.4-21.9 (47.3%) 10.6-12.4 (86%) 31.3 7.1 6.1
1966-67 28 66 40.5 9.8-21 (46.4%) 9.1-10.4 (87.8%) 28.7 5.9 6.8
1967-68 29 51 37.6 9.3-18.2 (51.4%) 7.7-9.5 (81.1%) 26.3 5.8 6.1
1968-69 30 61 39.2 8.9-19 (47.1%) 8-9.8 (82.1%) 25.9 4.3 6.9
1969-70 31 74 42 11.2-22.6 (49.7%) 8.7-10.6 (82.4%) 31.2 4.6 7.5
1970-71 32 69 41.2 9.7-19.6 (49.4%) 7.6-9.1 (83.2%) 26.9 4.6 9.5
1971-72 33 77 38.6 9.5-20 (47.7%) 6.7-8.2 (81.4%) 25.8 4.2 9.7
1972-73 3. 4 69 35.7 9-18.7 (47.9%) 4.9-6.1 (80.5%) 22.8 4.2 8.8
1973-74 35 31 31.2 7.5-16.7 (44.7%) 5.3-6.4 (83.3%) 20.3 3.7 6.6
Career 932 39.2 9.7-20.4 (47.4%) 7.7-9.4 (81.4%) 27 5.8 6.7

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