The Living Legend ~ Jerry West

Statistics

Jerry West played 14 seasons for the Lakers. He averaged 27.0 points, 6.7 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 2.6 steals in 932 regular-season games. He was selected to play in 14 All-Star games. He won 1 Finals MVP award and 1 NBA championship. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980.

Achievement

Born in 1938, former basketball player Jerome “Jerry” West is what we would call an icon. He came from a very humble beginning, his mother was a housewife and his father was a coal mine electrician. He was physically abused by his father which resulted in him becoming an aggressive youth. West started his basketball journey at East Bank High where he played as a forward, he went on to West Virginia University, where he played in the 1959 NCAA championship game, although they lost he became NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player, which later led him to a successful career as a play on the Los Angeles Laker. After mastering his craft he represented the U.S.A at the Olympics in 1950 where he became a Gold Medalist.

West's basketball career is what fellow basketballers wish to emulate, playing as a point guard he was chosen to play in the NBA All-Star 14 times and an All-Star MVP in 1972, and in that same said year he won his only NBA Title. West aka “The Clutch” has the highest point per game in NBA history and is the only player to be named MVP despite his team losing in 1996, he was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.

After his 14 years of playing professional basketball, his career terminated. West then became the head coach of the Lakers in 1976 and coached for three years. Each year he coached he led Los Angeles into the playoffs. He became a player scout for three years and was named the general manager of the Lakers. Under his leadership, the Lakers won six championship rings. In 2002, West moved on to managing the Memphis Grizzlies where they won their first playoff. Later West won the NBA Executive of the Year Award twice, first as a Lakers manager and then as a Grizzlies manager. The living legend will always be respected as one of the best basketballers to ever play in the NBA and is definitely one to look up to