Nicknamed "Mr. Clutch" and "Mr. Consistency,"Jerry West (born 1938) is considered one of the best shooting guards in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. He excited fans during his playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers, and later enjoyed great success as an executive for the team.
Ina NBA.com Features article profiling Jerry West, Tom Scharpling wrote: "His game was heaven-sent, striking a balance between lunch pail grit and fluid beauty. He was an automatic scorer, lethal on defense, and could pass, rebound-whatever his team required." Scharpling continued, "And while basketball was something West excelled at, it was also something that frustrated him, tormented him, never gave him a moment to appreciate it as just a game."
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Jerry Alan West was born on May 28, 1938, in the quiet town of Cheylan, West Virginia, near the state capital of Charleston. He was one of six children of Howard Stewart and Cecil Sue West. As noted in his biography on the NBA.com website, tragedy struck the family, and 12-year-old Jerry, when his older brother David, was killed in the Korean War. His biography noted, "The tragedy turned young Jerry inward, forcing him to develop his own coping mechanisms."
West's NBA.com biography noted that he was a small and shy boy, who did not make any of his junior high sports teams. He began a regimen to improve his basketball skills. West practiced in the rain, mud, and snow. He would forget to go home to eat dinner, and would practice shooting until his fingers bled. Eventually, West's hard work paid off. He made the varsity team at East Bank High School, and excelled in his senior year, becoming the first high school player in state history to score 900 points in a season. West then led his team to a state championship. In his book Basketball Superstars-Three Great Pros, Les Etter added, "In his honor, East Bank High School changed its name to West Bank for one week.
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Although recruited by many schools, West opted to attend and play basketball for West Virginia University. Etter noted, "The change from a small high school to a large college full of strangers wasn't easy for West. His classroom work dropped, and that was discouraging. But on the basketball court, it was a different story." As a West Virginia Mountaineer, West was twice named an All-American. In 1959, he led his team to the NCAA basketball tournament championship game. Even though they lost, West was selected the most valuable player for the tournament. In 1960, as co-captain of the U.S. Olympic basketball team, he won a gold medal. Reflecting back, West shared with Scharpling: "Winning a gold medal was a watershed moment for me. None of the players today would understand, but to win the Olympics as an amateur was an incredible thrill."
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Writing for Sports Illustrated, Richard Hoffer noted that after West won an Olympic gold medal, he "was astonished when the Lakers, just then picking up to move from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, drafted him in the first round in 1960.
" West recalled, "I didn't think I was good enough to play in the NBA." He signed a $15,000 contract with the Lakers. However, West did not have an overly impressive rookie season. In "The NBA at 50," a May 1996 interview for NBA.com, West recalled, "I was like a fish out of water."
West's second year went much better. Scharpling noted, "West nearly doubled his scoring output, pumping in 30.8 points per game (ppg), and adding 7.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists a game. West and [Elgin] Baylor became the Lakers' dynamic duo." That season, West played in his first NBA finals. The Lakers played the Celtics, but lost. In his NBA.com biography, West called the loss "particularly heartbreaking." West's strong ethic and dedication were legendary around the league. Etter observed, "He was always the first player out to practice and the last to leave." In his biography on the NBA.com, website, it stated, "Equally legendary was West's tolerance for pain. Not blessed with great size, strength or dribbling ability, West made up for these deficiencies with pure hustle and an apparent lack of regard for his body.
He broke his nose at least nine times."
As noted in his biography on the NBA.com, website, "most of West's legendary exploits came during the postseason." In the 1965 finals, he averaged 46.3 points per game, that remains the highest ppg average for any playoff series. During the 1969 finals against Boston, West was awarded most valuable player honors, the first and only time the award has gone to a member of the losing team. In "The NBA at 50" interview, West recalled, "I thought we should have won in '69-I felt we had the better team. Those are the ones that leave emotional scars." Despite the fact that he had yet to win an NBA championship, West was still highly-regarded by his peers. Etter commented, "All the coaches and players who know Jerry think he's one of basketball's best. He's got everything. He can shoot, he has quick hands, and he's fast as lightening. Add courage and dedication to the game, and you've got Jerry West." In his career, West and the Lakers lost eight of nine times in the NBA Finals.
As noted in his NBA.com biography, West described his feeling as "unbelievable frustration," and commented, "It would almost be better not to get to the playoffs at all than to go so far but no further."
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"The Los Angeles Lakers weren't getting any younger as they entered the 1971-72 season," noted the NBA.com website article "Lakers Win 33 in a Row." The team's core players were in their mid-30s, and Baylor would retire eight games into the season because of bad knees. However, the article noted, "New coach Bill Sharman, made several key moves to invigorate the Lakers." Prior to the start of the season, West had contemplated retirement. In his NBA.com biography, it noted that West was frustrated by the thought of injuries and losing in the finals. The biography recounted that "West returned and helped make history." On November 5, 1971, the Lakers began a 33 game winning streak. At year's end the team was 69-13, the best single-season record in NBA history.
The Lakers, and West, were determined to win the NBA title.
In the finals against the Knicks, the Lakers won the series in five games. In "The NBA at 50" interview, West reflected, "The '71-72 season was the culmination of an awful lot of frustration for the people I had played with in Los Angeles. It was a year that everything just seemed to go perfectly. It was an opening in the clouds. There were no injuries at all. It was almost a perfect season."
However, West was disappointed with his own performance in the playoffs. In the The Official NBA Encyclopedia, edited by Jan Hubbard, West commented, "I played terrible basketball in the Finals, and we won. That didn't seem to be justice for me personally because I had contributed so much in other years when we lost. But may be that's what a team is all about." West would play for two more seasons.
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At the end of the 1972-73 season, the Lakers again lost in the NBA Finals.
The following season, an injury sidelined West. He was only able to play in 31 games. In 1974, at the age of 36, West retired. At that time, he was the NBA's third-leading career scorer, with 25,192 points in 932 games, and was the fifth player in NBA history to score 20,000 points. He would be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. Despite the accolades, he was unhappy.
With marriage to his wife, Jane, in trouble, and his career over, West was, according to Hoffer "essentially lost." A friend shared with Hoffer, "What would he do now that the cheering had stopped? He was searching for something. It was a depression that all great actors and athletes go through." West eventually turned to golf. Hoffer noted, "The golf was necessary therapy during a strange time, when West seemed frantic to shed his past life, layer by layer." He even gave away some of his personal possessions, both athletic awards and clothes.
In the midst of this turmoil, West met a young woman, Karen Bua.
She shared with Hoffer, "He was just starting a divorce and was not a happy person. Very famous, had done everything and was just empty." The couple would later marry and have two sons.
After being away from the NBA for two years, West became the head coach of his Lakers in 1976. In three seasons, they went 145-101 and returned to the playoffs. Despite a winning record, West was not happy. Jack Kent Cooke, then owner of the Lakers, commented, "He was only moderately successful as a coach, because he could never understand why average players couldn't do the things he did so easily." Eventually, West quit, never to return to coaching. He became a successful scout for the Lakers, and was soon to find his niche in the NBA.
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In 1982, West became the general manager for the Los Angeles Lakers. Scharpling wrote that West "went on to become one of the masterminds of the Lakers' return to dominance in the '80s, first as a GM, then as a VP of Basketball Operations.
" West, always modest, told Scharpling, "I live my life by my instincts solely. That's the way I was as a player, and that's how I am as an executive." Hoffer noted that West was a man who took chances. In the 1989 NBA draft, he selected Yugoslavian player Vlade Divac, considered by some to be "strictly a novelty act." Instead, Hoffer noted, he "came up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's successor for the next decade." He also "took chances" on players like Byron Scott, A.C. Green, Mychal Thompson, and Orlando Woolridge. All proved to be good moves for West.
Refusing to take credit for the Lakers success throughout the 1980s and 1990s, West told Hoffer, "We've been fortunate." He attributed much of the team's success to Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar. He added, "Two of the greatest players to ever play the game, on one team, and that rarely happens. Our job is so much easier when those people have been around."
In 1996, West made his biggest moves as an executive. He traded the popular Divac for 17-year-old Kobe Bryant.
West then, as Earl Bloom described in a report for Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service, "pursued Shaquille O'Neal with the same guile and intensity he displayed in his Hall of Fame playing career." Bloom continued, "West was the one who wanted to take a last shot at the biggest prize on the NBA free-agent market." He would sign O'Neal to a seven-year, $120 million contract.
Despite the addition of the two superstars, West still worried about the details. In an article for Los Angeles Magazine, Chris Connelly wrote, "Rest assured, in West's basketball world, there is no such thing as "small stuff," and he sweats every single bit of it-the players, the team, the coaches, the competition." However, it all paid off. After a shortened season due to a strike, the Lakers won the 2000 NBA championship. West took it in stride, and then announced his retirement a short time later. As noted in his official statement on NBA.com, West stated: "I have been blessed with the privilege to play for and work for the best athletic franchise in all of sports, and I will always treasure that experience.
As I watch their progress with great interest and pride, I will remain their biggest fan."
Time will tell if West returns to the NBA in some capacity, but he will always be remembered. As his NBA.com biography states: "Combine a deadly jump shot, tenacious defense, obsessive perfectionism, unabashed confidence, and an uncompromising will to win, and you have Jerry West, one of the greatest guards in NBA history."
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Basketball—Professional Sports Team Histories, Edited by Michael L. LaBlanc, Gale Research, 1994.
Etter, Les, Basketball Superstars-Three Great Pros, Garrard Publishing Company, 1974.
Great Athletes—The Twentieth Century, Salem Press, 1992.
The Official NBA Encyclopedia, Edited by Jan Hubbard, Doubleday, 2000.
Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service, May 22, 1995; July 19, 1996.
Los Angeles Business Journal, February 9, 1999; August 14, 2000.
Los Angeles Magazine, June 1998.
Sport, October 1995.
Sporting News, January 16, 1995; May 22, 1995.
Sports Illustrated, April 23, 1990; August 17, 1992.
Time, August 21, 2000.
"How West Won," NBA.com, http://www.nba.com/features/IS-jerrywest-aprilmay00.html (January 28, 2001).
"Laker Legends: Jerry West" Legends—Los Angeles Lakers, http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Field/1844/past-west.html (January 25, 2001).
"NBA History: Lakers Win 33 in a Row," NBA.com, http://www.nba.com/history/lakers33-moments.html (January 27, 2001).
"NBA History: Mr. Clutch Sinks a 60-Footer," NBA.com, http://www.nba.com/history/mrclutch-moments.html (January 27, 2001).
"NBA History: West Averages 46.3 PPG," NBA.com, http://www.nba.com/history/65west-moments.html (January 27, 2001).
"NBA.com History: Player-Jerry West," NBA.com, http://www.
nba.com/history/west-bio.html (January 27, 2001).
"NBA.com History: Top 10 Teams—'72 Lakers," NBA.com, http://www.nba.com/history/72lakers.html (January 27, 2001).
"Statement from Jerry West," NBA.com, http://www.nba.com/Lakers/west-statement-000807.html (January 27, 2001).
"The NBA at 50: Jerry West," NBA.com, http://www.nba.com/history/west-50.html (January 28, 2001).
Jerry West’s storied career included 14 All-Star appearances, 12 All-NBA honors, five All-Defensive Teams and an NBA championship.
> Archive 75: Jerry West | 75 Stories: Jerry West
Combine a deadly jump shot, tenacious defense, obsessive perfectionism, unabashed confidence, and an uncompromising will to win, and you’ve got Jerry West, one of the greatest guards in NBA history.
During his 14-year playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers, West became synonymous with brilliant basketball.
He was the third player in league history to reach 25,000 points (after Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson). He was an All-Star every year of his career and led Los Angeles to the NBA Finals nine times. He left the game holding records for career postseason scoring and the highest average in a playoff series.
West’s statistical record only begins to tell his story. When the chips were down, West, with his lightning-quick release, was the guy the Lakers turned to for the big basket. Many players have been tagged with the nickname “Mr. Clutch,” but none of them lived up to it as well as West did. He was responsible for perhaps the most famous buzzer-beater of all time: a 60-foot swish that tied Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.
West was motivated by a relentless drive to succeed. Years after a game in which he hit 16 of 17 shots from the field, sank all 12 free throw attempts, and notched 12 rebounds, 12 assists and 10 blocked shots, West told the National Sports Daily, “Defensively, from a team standpoint, I didn’t feel I played very well.
Very rarely was I satisfied with how I played.” This obsessive quest for perfection was a constant during West’s playing years, and it continued in his later roles as coach and general manager of the Lakers and in similar front-office roles he held with the Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors and LA Clippers.
Jerry West was a 12-time All-NBA performer who knew how to elevate his game when the lights shined the brightest.
Equally legendary was West’s tolerance for pain. Not blessed with great size, strength, or dribbling ability, West made up for these deficiencies with pure hustle and an apparent lack of regard for his body. He broke his nose at least nine times. On more than one occasion West had to be helped to the court before games in which he ultimately scored 30 or 40 points.
Despite a level of intensity so high it could melt lead, West was one of the NBA’s most admired and well-liked figures. His ferocity rarely, if ever, rubbed players, coaches or fans the wrong way.
After the Lakers’ heartbreaking loss to the Boston Celtics in the 1969 NBA Finals, John Havlicek walked up to West and said, “Jerry, I love you.” Such comments were not uncommon.
Like many NBA stars, West came from humble beginnings. His first nickname, “Zeke from Cabin Creek,” was actually based on faulty information. He grew up in Cheylan, West Virginia, although his family got its mail in Cabin Creek. He was the son of a coal mine electrician who could afford no luxuries and who was usually too drained from work to play with his children. Jerry’s closest brother, David, was killed in the Korean War when Jerry was 12. The tragedy turned young Jerry inward, forcing him to develop his own coping mechanisms.
A smallish youth, West didn’t make his junior high football, baseball or track teams. His only outlet was a basketball hoop nailed to a storage shed outside a neighbor’s house. The dirt-covered court became his domain. In the rainy spring he dribbled in mud. When it snowed West played wearing gloves.
He practiced shooting until his fingers bled. He taught himself his quick shot release by bouncing the last dribble hard off the ground. Until he got it right, the ball would frequently hit and bruise his face. After practice he would listen to West Virginia basketball games on the radio.
West completely immersed himself in practice, often neglecting to eat. His mother lashed him when he showed up hours late for dinner and he became so thin that he had to receive vitamin injections.But the practice paid off. He made the varsity squad at East Bank High School, although he mostly sat on the bench during his junior year. Over the next summer he grew six more inches. As a 6-foot senior, West became the first prep player in state history to score 900 points in a season, averaging 32.2 points. With West’s hot hand leading the way, East Bank won the 1956 state title.
Naturally, West enrolled at WVU, where he was a two-time All-American and averaged 24.8 ppg. The team reached the NCAA championship game in 1959 but lost to the University of California.
In five postseason games that year, West scored a total of 160 points, presaging his NBA playoff heroics. The following year he and Oscar Robertson led an extremely talented U.S. squad to a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.
The Minneapolis Lakers chose West with the second overall pick behind Robertson in the 1960 NBA Draft. Emboldened by the success of the westward-bound Brooklyn Dodgers and faced with the dilemma of finding a site for its home games, the Lakers franchise moved to Los Angeles for the 1960-61 season. The team had posted a 25-50 record in its last season in Minneapolis.
With Elgin Baylor (“Mr. Inside”) scoring nearly 35 ppg and West (“Mr. Outside”) contributing 17.6 ppg, the Lakers improved to 36-43 and finished in second place in the Western Division. They edged the Detroit Pistons in the division semifinals but then lost to the St. Louis Hawks in the division finals.
Jerry West talks about how losing to the Celtics multiple times in The Finals affected his mindset and demeanor during his career.
During has remaining 13 seasons, the Lakers missed the Finals only four times. However, the Lakers and West came out on the losing end in eight of those nine Finals. Six of the losses came at the hands of the powerhouse Celtics.
No one was affected more by those defeats than West. “He took a loss harder than any player I’ve ever known,” said longtime Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn in the National Sports Daily. “He would sit by himself and stare into space. A loss just ripped his guts out.”
It’s no wonder. West held himself to seemingly impossible standards. “I’m surprised when the ball doesn’t go into the hoop,” West said toward the end of his career. “I think I should make every shot.”
Unrealistic or not, West the perfectionist propelled the Lakers to The Finals repeatedly in the 1960s and early 1970s. In 1961-62, West established himself as a deadly scoring threat and averaged 30.8 ppg, marking the first of four seasons in which he 30 ppg or more. The Lakers had risen from third place in the division to first since West’s arrival, posting a 54-26 record and in the playoffs, West upped his scoring average to 31.
5 ppg.
The Lakers’ seven-game defeat at the hands of the Celtics in the 1962 Finals was particularly heartbreaking. After taking the series lead on Baylor’s then record 61-point performance in Game 5, Los Angeles dropped the next two. In Game 7, a 15-foot Frank Selvy jumper at the buzzer that would have won the game in regulation bounced off the rim. Boston won in overtime, 110-107.
Jerry West and the Lakers won Game 3 of the 1962 NBA Finals at the buzzer.
Although West enjoyed great individual success during his prime, the team’s record is a study in frustration — “unbelievable frustration” is how West described it to the Los Angeles Times Magazine. From 1962-70, the Lakers reached the Finals six times, losing to Boston five times and to the Knicks once.
Three of the Finals went seven games, with the Lakers losing two of those Game 7s to the Celtics by a single basket. In 1969, as in 1962, the Lakers led Boston after five games only to drop the last two contests.
Despite the Lakers’ failure to win more titles, most of West’s legendary exploits came during the postseason. In the 1965 playoffs, West averaged 40.6 ppg over 11 contests; his 46.3 ppg average against Baltimore in the division finals was a record for a six-game series.
In 1965-66, West had another stellar year, averaging 31.3 ppg and finishing behind only Chamberlain in the scoring race. He also ranked fourth in both assists (6.1 apg) and free- throw percentage (.860). In the playoffs he kept up his torrid scoring pace, averaging 34.2 ppg over 14 contests. Boston won another NBA Finals matchup, prevailing in Game 7 at Boston Garden, 95-93.
Jerry West was an All-NBA performer in 12 of his seasons.
In the 1969 Finals against Boston, West became the only member of a losing team to be named Finals MVP. And in the 1970 NBA Finals against New York, West launched the famous bomb that, at least briefly, resuscitated the Lakers. The Knicks’ Walt Frazier recalled thinking as West let the miracle shot fly, “The man’s crazy.
He looks determined. He thinks it’s really going in!” It did, sending Game 3 into overtime. New York, however, won the game and the title. “It was a beautiful thing wasted,” West later said.
As players on a perennial bridesmaid team, West and Baylor were frequently eclipsed by Chamberlain, Robertson and Bill Russell, who collectively won virtually every MVP during West’s and Baylor’s most productive years. Although both ranked among the top four leading scorers in history when they retired, neither man ever won an MVP. Still, West was named to the All-NBA First Team 10 times in his career, and he was selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team in four of his final five seasons.
Prior to the 1971-72 season, the 33-year-old West was considering retirement. He thought of the broken noses, the broken hands, the pulled muscles and the lost championships. West returned, however, and helped make history. With Chamberlain now in the middle and Gail Goodrich pitching in on offense, the Lakers won a record 33 games in a row under new coach (and former Celtics star) Bill Sharman.
They were 39-3 at midseason and finished at 69-13, the best single-season record in NBA history until the 1995-96 Bulls (72-10) bested it.. Despite his age and physical problems, West kept averaged 25.8 ppg while leading the NBA in assists with 9.7 per contest.
It wasn't a 3-pointer, but Jerry West's 60-foot prayer was answered in Game 2 of the 1970 NBA Finals.
Having come this far, West would not be denied an NBA title. The Lakers swept the Bulls and beat the Bucks in six games to reach The Finals. Once there, the Lakers lost Game 1 to the Knicks, but then won four straight by relatively large margins. Including playoff games, the Lakers’ record for the year was 81-16.
West’s long wait had ended. He had finally won a championship, in one of the greatest seasons ever for an NBA team. Revitalized, he played two more seasons. The 1972-73 Lakers lost to the Knicks in The Finals while in 1973-74, a pulled groin limited West to 31 regular-season contests and only one playoff game.
“I’m not willing to sacrifice my standards,” West told the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner when he retired. “Perhaps I expect too much.”
In 1974, the 36-year-old West left the game as the NBA’s third-leading career scorer, behind Chamberlain and Robertson, with 25,192 points in 932 games. His average of 27.0 ppg game stands as the fourth highest among retired players, behind Michael Jordan, Chamberlain and Baylor. His 31.2 ppg in 1969-70 (at age 31) is the highest average ever for a player over 30. And his 6,238 career assists (6.7 apg) rank among the best ever. Only Jordan had a higher career scoring average in the playoffs, and only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tallied more career points in the postseason.
After two years away from basketball, West became the Lakers’ coach before the 1976-77 season. In three campaigns with West at the helm, the Lakers went 145-101 and returned to the playoffs after missing the postseason during West’s retirement. He stayed on as a scout for three years and became general manager in 1982, helping to build the Lakers’ dynasty of the 1980s.
West remained as uptight in the front office as he had been on the court. “If I’m not nervous, if I don’t have at least a little bit of the same self-doubt and anxious feelings I had when I started playing, then it will be time for me to go on,” he told the Orange County Register in 1990. “I must have that tension.” West was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. West was named the NBA Executive of the Year for 1995 after the Lakers posted their best record in four seasons.
He was also at the forefront of rebuilding the Lakers into championship shape by adding Shaquille O’Neal as a free agent and trading for Kobe Bryant, who entered the NBA out of high school in 1996. Those two players formed the nucleus of three consecutive championship teams beginning with capturing the 2000 NBA Finals.
After being employed by the Lakers for over 40 years, West retired but soon became the president of basketball operations of the Memphis Grizzlies on April 30, 2002.
He spent five years at that post, helping build Memphis into a playoff team in 2004, ’05 and ’06 before stepping down in 2007.
On May 20, 2011, West was hired by the Warriors as one of the team’s executive members, where he assisted the team in basketball and non-basketball related decisions. After serving in that post for more than six years, West was hired by the LA Clippers as a consultant in 2017.
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Jerry West (full name: Jerry Alan West) is an American basketball executive and former player who played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
His nicknames included "Mr. Clutch" for his ability to play a major role in a clutch situation, such as his famous 60-foot hit that made Game 3 of the NBA Finals 1970 years against the New York Knicks; The logo in relation to his silhouette incorporated into the NBA logo; Mr.
Outside,
regarding his perimeter play with the Los Angeles Lakers; and Zeke from Cabin Creek, by a stream near his hometown of Chelyan, West Virginia.
West played small forward early in his career, and he was a standout at East Shore High School and West Virginia University, where he led the Mountaineers to an NCAA championship game of 1959 years old
Despite the loss, he earned the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player award. He then began a 14-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers and was co-captain of the 1960 Olympic gold medal winning team USA, a team that was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
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West's NBA career was very successful. Playing at quarterback, he made 12 First and Second All-Star Teams, was selected to the All-Star Team 14 times, and was selected as All-Star MVP 19 times.
72, the same year he won the only title of his career.
West holds the NBA record for the highest average points per game in a playoff series with 46.3. He was also a member of the first five NBA All-Defensive Teams (one second, then 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 playing on the losing team (1969). West was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980 and was voted one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.
After his playing career ended, West took over as head coach of the Lakers for three years. He led Los Angeles to the playoffs every year and earned a spot in the Western Conference Finals once. After three years as a scouting player, West was named the Lakers' general manager prior to the 1982–83 NBA season.
Los Angeles won six championship rings under his rule. In 2002, West became the general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies and helped the franchise win its first playoff berths.
For his contributions, West won the NBA Executive of the Year Award twice, first as a Lakers manager (1995) and then as a Grizzlies manager (2004). West's son, Johnny, played college basketball at West Virginia.
Jerry Alan West is a former American basketball player. He is considered one of the best defensemen to ever play in the NBA. He played from 1960 to 1974, all for the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Jerry Alan West is 81 years old as of 2019. He was born on May 28, 1938 in Chelyan, West Virginia, USA.
Jerome Alan West was born into a poor family in Chelyan, West Virginia. He was the fifth of six children of Cecil Sue West, a housewife, and Howard Stuart West, a coal mine electrician.
West used to be an aggressive child in his youth until his brother died in the Korean War at the age of 21 and he turned into a shy and withdrawn boy when Jerry was 12/13.
He was so small, frail and weak that he needed many vitamin shots from the doctor and was kept away from children's sports so that he would not get seriously injured.
As a child, West spent his days hunting and fishing, but his main occupation was shooting a basketball hoop that a neighbor had nailed to his storage shed.
West spent days shooting at baskets from every possible angle, ignoring the dirt and snow in the backyard, and his mother's spanking when he came home a few hours after dinner; he played so often that the NBA recognized it as "obsessive"
Jerome Alan West is an American basketball executive and former player. During his active career, West played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. Jerry is 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) tall.
Jerry West is a retired American basketball player who spent his entire professional career with the Los Angeles Lakers and is worth $55 million.
Jerry West was born on May 28, 1938 in Chelyana, West Virginia, where he excelled at East Bank High School and West Virginia University, led climbers to the 1959 NCAA championship game, earning the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player award. despite the loss.
He then began a 14-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers and was co-captain of the US gold medal team at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
His nicknames include "Mr. Clutch", for his ability to play a major role in a clutch situation, "The Logo", referring to his silhouette incorporated into the NBA logo; 'Mister. Outside", referring to his perimeter play, and "Zeke from Cabin Creek".
West was voted 12 times to the NBA First and Second Teams, was named to the NBA team 14 times, and in 1972 he was named MVP of the All-Star Game.
In 1996, West was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. West was the head coach of the Lakers for three years, leading Los Angeles to the playoffs every year and earning a spot in the Western Conference Finals once.
After three years as a scout, West was named Lakers general manager ahead of NBA season 1982–83. Under his tenure, Los Angeles won six NBA championships.
West married his college sweetheart Martha Jane Caine in April 1960 in Morgantown; they divorced in 1976. They have three sons, David, Mark and Michael. Jerry married his current wife Karen in 1978. They have two sons, Ryan and Johnny. Johnny played quarterback for West's college team, the West Virginia Mountaineers.
As a person, West has often been described as an introvert and nervous character, but he has also drawn 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 Shouse once recalled a two-week period when his guard didn't say a word.
Aside from his shyness, West has always been restless: Shouse described him as "a bundle of nerves", Celtics contemporary Bob Cousy described him as "always on the move", and Laker and Mountaineer teammate Rod Hundley testified that while visiting West's bar writhed quickly.
and demand to go somewhere before everyone calms down.
His first wife, Martha Kane, recalled that her husband often found it difficult to open up to her. After the big loss, the Wests drove home and she tried to comfort him, but West said, "Get out" on the porch of the house and drive away - an experience that "killed" her as a wife.
West graduated56, and more than 60 universities showed interest in him. He eventually decided to stay in his home state and attend West Virginia University (WVU) located in Morgantown.
In his freshman year (1956–57), West was a member of the WVU freshman team that achieved a perfect record of 17 wins without a loss during the season; Other team members included Jay Jacobs and Willie Akers.
In his freshman year under head coach Fred Schous, West averaged 17.
8 points per game and averaged 11.1 rebounds; He also started in all 28 games, throwing 49.6% from the field and 73.2% from the free throw line.
These performances earned him numerous awards, including a call to the Americas Third Team; First All-Union Command Conference; Southern Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player Award and First Team Awards; Chuck Taylor All-American Awards - Converse Second Team; and All-American awards from the Associated Press and United Press International.
That same year, the Mountaineers went 26–2, ending the season with a loss to Manhattan College in post-season tournament play.
In his junior year (1958–59), West scored 26.6 points per game and grabbed 12.3 rebounds per game. He set an NCAA tournament record with five games of 160 points (32.0 ppg) and led all scorers and rebounders in every West Virginia game, including receiving 28 points and 11 rebounds in a 71–70 Finals loss to California. West was named the most outstanding player in the Final Four that year.
Next honors were All-American, Southern Conference Tournament MVP and Southern Conference Player of the Year and Sportsman of the Year.
He was also named a member of the US Pan American Games basketball team that won the gold medal. West showed his tenacity in the game in a match against the Kentucky Wildcats.
He broke his nose during an incident in the game, but continued to play despite being in great pain and having to breathe through his mouth. He scored 19 points in the second half, leading WVU to an upset victory.
In his last collegiate season (1959–60), West had several career highlights such as scoring 29.3 points per game, 134 assists for the season, 16.5 rebounds per game and an average of 50.4% from the field, 76.6% from the field. free throw line.
He was again the recipient of several accolades: All-American Selection and Southern Conference MVP. West's best performance was against Virginia, in which he grabbed 16 rebounds and scored 40 points.
Moreover, in the last year he had 30 double-doubles and 15 games of 30 points. During his college career, West scored 2,309 points and 1,240 rebounds.
He averaged 24.8 points per game and 13.3 rebounds. As of 2011, West holds 12 WVU all-time records. West and Oscar Robertson were co-captains of the US men's basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics.
West attended East Bank High School in East Bank, West Virginia from 1952 to 1956. During his first year, he was benched by his trainer Duke Shaver due to his lack of height. Shaver emphasized the importance of conditioning and protection, which teenagers valued.
West soon became the captain of the freshman team, and in the summer of 1953 he grew to 1.83 m (1.83 m). West eventually became the team's starting small forward and quickly established himself as one of the best West Virginia high school students of his generation.
He was named All-State from 1953–56, then All-American in 1956 when he was West Virginia Player of the Year, becoming the first state high school player to score over 900 points in a season, averaging 32.
2. points per game.
West's mid-range jump shot became his trademark and he often used it to score when under pressure from defenders.
West led East Bank to a state championship on March 24 of that year, prompting East Bank High School to change its name to "West Bank High School" on March 24 each year in honor of his prodigy. This practice continued until the closure of the school in 1999.
You won't achieve much in life if you only work on the days you feel good. Confidence is a big part of this game or any other game. If you don't think you can, then you can't. When it's time for me to get away from something, I get away from it. My mind, my body, my conscience tell me enough is enough.
Los Angeles Lakers, Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside. West entered the 1960 NBA draft and was selected with the second overall pick by the Minneapolis Lakers shortly before the team moved to Los Angeles.
West became the first draft pick in the new franchise. His college coach was also hired to coach the Lakers.
He played West as a quarterback, unlike when West was in college as a forward. The Lakers were led by Hall of Famer forward Elgin Baylor, complemented by centers Jim Krebs and Ray Felix; forwards Rudy LaRusso and Tom Hawkins; and guarding Rod Hundley (from West Virginia, as well as West), Frank Selvy and Bobby Leonard.
This team has always had strong offensive players and defensemen, but they have consistently been weak in the center, putting them at a disadvantage against the Boston Celtics with their Hall of Famer center Bill Russell.
At first, West felt strange in his new surroundings. He was a loner. His high-pitched voice earned him the nickname "Tweety Bird" and he spoke with such a thick Appalachian accent that his teammates also called him "Zeke from Cabin Creek" (his nickname matched his country roots and his accent was so strong) . fat that he shyly squeaked his nickname - "Zeke of Cape Creek").
However, West soon impressed his colleagues with his defensive agility, his vertical jump—he could climb 16 inches over the edge when he climbed—and his work ethic, spending countless extra hours working on his game. On the court, West scored 17.6 points, scored 7.7 rebounds and gave 4.2 assists per game.
West gained Schouse's trust and, alternating with Hundley, Selvy and Leonard, played 35 minutes per game and established himself as the Lakers' second-best scoring option.
The NBA noted that the Lakers now have a powerful one-two hit - “Mr. Inside" (Baylor, who got a low score) and "Mr. Outside" (Trucker, West). These performances soon earned West the first of fourteen NBA All-Star Game calls.
West helped the Lakers improve their previous 25-win season to 36 when they made the 1961 NBA Playoffs. It took them all five games to take out the Detroit Pistons; but then lost to the St. Louis Hawks in seven games, losing the final game 105–103.
In West's second season in the NBA, the Lakers had only limited use of Baylor, who was called up by the US Army Reserve and could only play 48 games.
However, West seamlessly assumed the role of team leader and established himself as the Lakers' leading scorer, averaging 30.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game, winning all NBA First Team honors.
West became famous for throwing big shots late in the game, and Lakers announcer Chick Hearn called him "Mr." Clutch" is a pen that has stayed with West throughout his career.
The Lakers won 54 games in the regular season and achieved a first-round tryout in the 1962 NBA Playoffs. They defeated the Pistons four games to two to advance to the 1962 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. The teams split the first two games, and at the end of Game 3 in Los Angeles, West tied the game at 115.
The Celtics' Sam Jones blocked the ball in half court with three seconds left. West stole the ball, raced to the side of the court and, when the signal rang, implemented a simple game. The Celtics tied in Game 6, three games each, and the teams traveled to Boston for Game 7.
The Lakers were losing most of the game, but West and Frank Selvy hit a few clutch baskets to tie the game at 100. Selvy then missed an open 8-foot throw that would have given the Lakers their first title.
Baylor's attempt to intervene was foiled by Sam Jones. In overtime, Jones hit several clutch baskets to secure a 110–107 Celtics victory. The 1962 NBA Finals would be the beginning of the greatest rivalry in NBA history.
In NBA season 1962–63 Baylor returned full-time. West averaged 27.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.6 assists to once again become an NBA First All-Star team; however, he only played 55 regular season games, missing the final seven weeks with a hamstring injury. Once again, the Lakers made it to the Finals, and once again they took on the Celtics.
With West out of shape, Baylor and the Lakers fell back 3-2; they then lost in Game 6 in front of their hosts in a 112–109 loss. As the game ended, veteran Celtics playmaker Bob Cousy kicked the ball high into the rafters of the Los Angeles sports arena.
90,003 90,002 The following 1963–64 NBA season, West led the Lakers in scoring for the first time. His 28.7 points per game eclipsed Baylor's 25.4, who said he had knee problems.
The Lakers struggled throughout the season, winning only 42 games, and were defeated by the Hawks in five games in the first round of the 1964 NBA Playoffs.
Next season NBA 1964–65, West averaged 31.0 points (a career high at the time), trailing only perennial scoring champion Wilt Chamberlain. Finishing the regular season with 49 wins, Los Angeles
played for the Baltimore Bullets in the first round of the 1965 NBA Playoffs, but then team captain Baylor suffered a career-threatening knee injury.
West took Baylor's lead in spectacular fashion, scoring 49 points and wishing a win for the shocked Lakers. In Game 2, Baltimore couldn't stop a Lakers guard who scored 52 points, nearly half of Los Angeles' total points, in a 118–115 win.
The Bullets won their two home games despite West scoring 44 and 48 points respectively, but in the deciding Game 5 in Los Angeles, the quarterback helped beat the Bullets by 42 points in a close 117–115 win.
West averaged 46.3 points per game, still an NBA record.
However, in the 1965 NBA Finals, the Celtics easily beat the Lakers in the shorthand, 4–1. In Game 1, which Boston won easily, Celtics defenseman C.C. Jones only pinned West 26 points, and West scored 45 points in Game 2, but Boston still won 129.-123.
In Game 3, West scored 49 points and Los Angeles finally won the game, but in Games 4 and 5, the Lakers lost by double figures; in the last quarter of Game 5, West missed 14 of 15 shots and failed to prevent another Celtics win. However, the Lakers quarterback finished the playoffs with 40.6 points per game.
Lakers leader
During the 1965–66 NBA season, West averaged 31.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. He made an NBA-record 840 free throws and earned another pair of All-Star and NBA First Team nominations.
After winning 45 games, the Lakers defeated the St. Louis Hawks in a close seven-game streak to face the Boston Celtics again in the 1966 NBA Finals.
West was assisted by Baylor, who, by self-assessment, was "75 percent" of himself before the injury. The two longtime rivals shared the first six games, and West's usual scoring lead was countered by Celtics forward John Havlicek, whose size and speed created serious problems for the Lakers.
In Game 7, West and Baylor hit three-of-18 combined in the first half, and the Lakers fell far behind; L.A. reclaimed closure 95–93 with four seconds left, but the Celtics ran the game and the Lakers were denied again.
In the 1966–67 NBA season, West only played 66 regular season games due to injury; his averages dropped slightly to 28.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game.
The Lakers had a disappointing season, winning just 36 games and losing to the San Francisco Warriors in the first round of the 1967 NBA Playoffs. Veteran coach Fred Schaus retired and was replaced by Butch Van Breda Kolff; Under his tenure, the Lakers won 52 games in NBA season 19.67–68 in his first season at the Forum.
52 wins accumulated despite West only playing 51 regular season games due to injury and scoring 26.3 points, the lowest average since his rookie year: after six straight seasons he was first team , and then only became the second in the NBA. Team.
In the 1968 NBA Playoffs, the Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls and Warriors to set up another Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals; this was considered a matchup between size and speed, as the Lakers had no one to match Celtics coach/center Bill Russell or forward John Havlicek near the basket, but the Celtics, in turn, struggled defensively prolific Los Angeles hitters outside of Baylor, West and others. security guard Gail Goodrich.
In Game 1, West only made seven of 24 shots and the Lakers lost 107–101, but Los Angeles tied the game two games each. But West, who scored 38 points in Game 4, sprained his ankle and did not play at full strength for the remainder of the series. In Game 5, an injured West scored 35 points, but Boston won by three points.
In Game 6, Havlicek beat the Lakers by 40 points, and after another loss in the Finals to Boston, West commented that the Lakers had lost two games they should have won: "We gave them the first game, and we gave them fifth. But I don't take anything from them... They're all like that on the Celtics and you can't teach it."
Wilt Chamberlain arrives
On July 9, 1968, the Lakers made a deal that brought NBA MVP Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers to Los Angeles at the start of the 1968–69 NBA season. To get the center, the Lakers traded West's backcourt partner Archie Clark, starting center Darrell Imhoff, and backup forward Jerry Chambers to the Philadelphia.
Coach Van Breda Kolff was concerned about the loss of defensive positions after losing Clark, and especially after losing Goodrich in the draft addition to the Phoenix Suns.
Only the tiny, weak defensive Johnny Egan remained next to West. While West himself got along well with the new recruit, Chamberlain often argued with team captain Elgin Baylor and had a bad relationship with Van Breda Kolff.
Van Breda Kolff derogatoryly referred to Chamberlain as "The Load" and later complained that Chamberlain was selfish, never respected him, relaxed too often in practice, and focused too much on his own statistics. In response, the center called Van Breda Kolff "the dumbest and worst coach in history."
There was an altercation in which Chamberlain was about to hit Van Brad Kolff before Baylor intervened. West was clearly troubled by the tension in the locker room; He used to play on teams with good chemistry, his play became erratic, and his 25.9 average was his lowest since his rookie season. However, he entered the second team of the first All-Defensive Team. 90,003 90,002 In the 1969 NBA Playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Atlanta Hawks and San Francisco Warriors with 55 wins to set up their sixth series of Finals against Boston in eight years.
Before Game 1, West privately complained to Bill Russell about exhaustion, but then the Lakers guard scored 53 points at Boston in a two-point win.
Los Angeles also won Game 2 in which West scored 41 points.
In Game 3, Russell decided to play West twice, and defenseman exhaustion began to show: West twice asked to be replaced for longer periods, and both times the Lakers trailed by double figures and finally lost by six points.
In Game 4, Celtics defenseman Sam Jones hit an off-balance buzzer to tie the game, but in Game 5, the Lakers hit back to win by 13 points; however, they suffered a major blow when West, who scored 39 points and by far led all players in scoring throughout the series, rushed after a pointless ball late in the game and seriously pulled his hamstring: it was immediately clear that the injury would not heal until the end of the series.
Limping West scored 26 points in Game 6 but the Celtics won 99–90 with a strong Bill Russell who only held Chamberlain with eight points the entire game. In Game 7, Lakers owner Jack Kent Cook hung thousands of balloons from the rafters of the Los Angeles Forum.
This display of arrogance motivated the Celtics and angered the West. The Lakers were losing the entire game and trailing 91–76 after 3 quarters, but thanks to a limping West, the Lakers closed the gap to 103–102 with two minutes remaining and possession.
But West made costly losses and Los Angeles lost the game 108-106 despite a triple-double of 42 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists from West, who was the only recipient of the NBA Finals MVP award from the losing team .
After the loss, West was considered the most tragic hero: after the game, Bill Russell held his hand, and John Havlicek said: "I love you, Jerry."
In the 1969–70 NBA season under new coach Joe Mullaney, the Lakers' season began with a bang when Wilt Chamberlain seriously injured his knee and missed most of the regular season.
As after Baylor's injury a few years earlier, West went to the tie, leading the NBA in scoring averages of 31.2 points per game and averaging 4.6 rebounds and 7.
5 assists per game to give him the first of four votes for the All-Defensive First Team and another All-NBA First Team two years after the Second Team.
The Lakers won 46 games, and in the 1970 NBA Playoffs they narrowly defeated the Phoenix Suns in seven games and edged out the Hawks in four to set up the first NBA Finals between the Lakers and the New York Knicks. led by Hall of. -Feimers like Willis Reed, Dave DeBuscher, Bill Bradley and Walt Frazier.
Los Angeles and New York split the first two games, and both games were decided by center Reed and the still-toddling Chamberlain.
In Game 3, DeBoucher hit a three-second midrange jump shot to give the Knicks a 102-100 lead with no timeouts left for the Lakers. Chamberlain blocked the ball to West, who rushed past Walt Frazier and hit from a 60-foot kick.
Frazier later commented, “This man is crazy. He looks determined. He thinks this is really happening! ' The West had an incredible run and the basket was later named by the NBA as one of the greatest moments in history.
Because the three-point line had not yet been introduced, the hit just tied the game. However, in overtime, West sprained his left arm and missed all five hits, and the Knicks won 111-108.
In Game 4, the defenseman had 37 points and 18 assists to win the Lakers. However, more disappointment awaited West in Game 5 when Reed pulled a thigh muscle and appeared to be out of the series; instead of capitalizing on double digit winnings and getting an easy win,
The Lakers had 19 passes in the second half, and the two leading scorers Chamberlain and West only hit three and two, respectively, in the entire second half and lost 107-100 in what has been called one of the greatest comebacks in the NBA Finals. story.
With Chamberlain scoring 45 points and West 31 points plus 13 assists in a 135-113 Lakers win streak, the Lakers looked like the favorites heading into Game 7.
However, West also injured his right arm and received multiple hand injections, and Reed famously hobbled before Game 7: the Knicks center scored the first four points and inspired his team to one of the most famous playoff losses of all time.
With his injured hands, West still made nine of his 19 shots, but was outplayed by Walt Frazier, who scored 36 points and 19 assists, as well as several important interceptions by Lakers defenseman Dick Garrett.
During the 1970–71 NBA season, the Lakers resigned Gail Goodrich, who returned from the Phoenix Suns after playing for Los Angeles until 1968. At 32, West averaged 26.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 9.5 assists to help the Lakers win 46 games and make the NBA Playoffs 1971 years old.
After losing to Elgin Baylor to an Achilles tendon rupture that effectively ended his career, West injured his knee himself and was out for the season; The Lakers lost the Western Conference Finals in five games to the championship-winning Milwaukee Bucks, who were led by freshly crowned MVP Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and a veteran Hall of Famer guard. Oscar Robertson.
Photograph by Jerry West Before the 1971–72 NBA season, West suffered from frequent injuries and losses and considered retirement.
The Lakers hired former Celtics star guard and future Hall of Famer coach Bill Sharman as head coach. Although injured captain Elgin Baylor retired, the Lakers had a season to last.
Sharman's emphasis on hard defense and fast-breaking offense was at the heart of the team, and Los Angeles began an unprecedented 33-game win streak en route to a then-record 69victories in the regular season.
Sam West scored 25.8 points and led the league with a career-high 9.7 assists per game. He was named First All-Star, NBA, and Defensive Player and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1972 All-Star Game.
In the postseason, the Lakers defeated the Chicago Bulls in a four-game draw. then went on to fight the Milwaukee Bucks and beat them in six games.
In the 1972 NBA Finals, the Lakers faced the New York Knicks again. Although West endured a terrible slump in shooting during Games 1 and 2, the Lakers drew one win each, and in Game 3 he scored 21 points to help Los Angeles win Game 3.
In that game, he scored 4,002 playoff points, an NBA all-time record. After winning Game 4 thanks to a great performance by Wilt Chamberlain, West scored 23 points in Game 5 to win the game and become their first NBA title.
Jerry West admitted that he played a terrible series and thanked the team for the success. Years later, he said: “I played basketball badly in the finals and we won… It was especially frustrating because I played so badly that the team beat me. Maybe that's the team."
Having overcome this long-standing curse, West entered his 13th year in the NBA. In the 1972–73 NBA season, Goodrich took over the lead in scoring, with West now the playmaker instead of the scorer.
Still, West averaged 22.8 points but also averaged 8.8 assists per game and was once again the No. 1 player on All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defense teams. The Lakers won 60 games to reach the 1973 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.
In Game 1, West scored 24 points to foul with three minutes left and Los Angeles won Game 1, 115-112.
However, the Knicks won games 2 and 3, and West flexed both of his hamstrings: in game 4, the Lakers were no match for New York, and in game 5, a valiant, but an injured West and Hairston played horribly, and despite Chamberlain scoring 23 points and 21 rebounds, the Lakers lost 102–93 and the entire series.
The 1973-74 NBA season was supposed to be West's last as a player. Now the 36-year-old veteran guard averaged 20.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game. In two recent statistics, steals and blocks, he was credited with 2.6 steals and 0.7 blocks per game.
Despite only playing 31 games due to a tight groin, West was still considered an elite defenseman who was again called up to the final All-Star Game. Without Chamberlain, who retired from the NBA, the Lakers won 47 games and lost in five games to the Milwaukee Bucks.
After this loss, West retired due to contract disputes with Cook and sued for unpaid wages.
West wanted to renegotiate his contract and keep playing, however, according to him, Cook "basically told my agent to go to hell." I felt cheated. When you feel that you have been deceived, you do not want any part of the organization to deceive you.
I could play another very good year. That's what every athlete says. But I could, and I knew I could. But I could never play for the Lakers again and had no intention of playing for anyone else." At the time of his departure, West had scored more points than any Laker in NBA history.
In the summer of 1996, West traded for shooting guard Kobe Bryant and signed then-free agent Shaquille O'Neal.
Lakers owner Jack Kent Cook was known for his keen eye for leadership and coaching (he also gave Hall of Famers Sparky Anderson and Joe Gibbs their first leadership/head coach positions), and asked West to coach and participate in player personnel decisions .
During the 1976–77 season, West became the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. In three years, he led the Lakers and star center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to a 145–101 record, making the playoffs in all three seasons and reaching the Western Conference Finals once in 1977.
After training, Jerry West worked as a scout for three years before becoming general manager of the Lakers before the 1982–83 season.
NBA.com thanks West for building the great Lakers dynasty of the 1980s that brought five championship rings to Los Angeles (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988).
After a slump in the early 1990s, West rebuilt Coach Del Harris' team around center Vlade Divak, forward Cedric Ceballos and defenseman Nick Van Exel, who won 48 games to go to the Western Conference semi-finals; for changing the team, West received his first Executive of the Year award.
By trading Vlade Divaak for Kobe Bryant, signing center Shaquille O'Neal and six-time NBA champion Phil Jackson as coach, West laid the foundation for the Lakers' three-time victory that propelled Los Angeles to three NBA titles.
From 2000 to 2002
In 1999, West signed with six-time NBA champion coach Phil Jackson. In 2002, West became the general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Jerry West explained his decision as a desire to explore something new: "After being a part of the Lakers' success for so many years, I've always wondered what it would be like to build a winning franchise that didn't have much success.
I want to help make a difference.” West's time in Memphis wasn't as spectacular as his time in Los Angeles, but he turned a franchise about to be sold into a solid playoff team by making few deals but getting the most out of the players he had (e.g., Pau Gasol, James Posey, and Jason Williams) and signing coach Hubie Brown, who won Coach of the Year in 2004.
Sam West won his second NBA Executive of the Year award that same year. At age 69, West stepped down as general manager of the Grizzlies in 2007 and handed over leadership duties to Chris Wallace of Buckhannon, West Virginia.
On May 19, 2011, West joined the Golden State Warriors as an executive board member, reporting directly to new owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber.
This role also involves an undisclosed minority stake in the team. In 2015, the Warriors won their first championship in 40 years; the championship was the seventh earned by West as team principal. He earned his eighth in the 2016-2017 season.
On June 14, 2017, West announced that he would be joining the Los Angeles Clippers as an executive board member.
The history of the NBA is neatly divided into ten-year spans with one notable exception: the 13-year span when the Boston Celtics and Bill Russell mercilessly smashed the planet under Red Auerbach, during which time the Celtics won 11 titles; the rest could fight, but in the end the Boston dragon almost inevitably climbed to the top.
There is an entire generation of players whose careers have been devastated or markedly affected by this serial success.
Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson and many others had to be content with being some of the most powerful and great players in history. Moreover, in Russell, Wilt, Baylor and Maurice Stokes, for the first time ever, African Americans were given the chance to really influence the game – a long way from total ban and restricted play to the moment when the wall of intolerance finally collapsed.
Part 4. Triple confrontation.
Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson.
The Celtics of that era didn't completely abandon individuality in favor of team interests. But they were pretty darn close to perfection, caring nothing for the rest of the league and twiddling a giant middle finger at teams built around brighter stars. Wilt, at least, was in the frame.
He broke their winning streak, was their main rival at any given time, provided the only possible counter-argument to their way of doing "business". This left Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson, the three greatest victims of Boston's ten-year hegemony, dealing with something between total failure and utter tragedy.
Baylor dragged the Minneapolis Lakers to the 1959 Finals in his first season, only to get a sweep from Boston. West joined in 1960; the pair lost to Boston in the Finals six times between 1962 and 1969. After nine games in the 1971-72 season, the 37-year-old Baylor retired with knee problems, after which the Lakers went on a record 33-game winning streak. West finally won the title; Baylor was given the ring as a tribute to his career, but he probably saw it as pity. As for Robertson, his Cincinnati Royals prospered at first and then fell into disarray, thanks in no small part to the owner's shameless, sometimes grossly sloppy actions. Oscar requested a trade to Milwaukee and played the role of squire Lew Elsindor on the path of the Bucks to the championship71 years old.
For a bunch of "losers", Baylor, West, and Robertson had no problems at all on their path to immortal glory. Each of them created their own superstar template, which continues to this day. Baylor is recognized as the father of all bouncy players. West is Mr. Clutch, despite all his losses, and it's his silhouette, not Russell or Cousy, that's on the NBA logo. Robertson was a prickly and demanding partner, but he became synonymous with the perfect triple-double player. Owning only one ring of the champion, this only emphasized how important their individual contribution to the development of sports is.
***
GREEN RESPECT: While Baylor, West, and Robertson never stopped Boston's green terror, there were no other three players the Celtics respected more:
BAYLOR: " I can state unequivocally that Elgin Baylor is the greatest founding player in the history of professional basketball." -Bill Sherman, during Baylor's 1971 retirement ceremony.
WEST: “Jerry, you are a champion, in every sense of the word, a real champion. If I had just one wish, I would like you to always be happy.” - Bill Russell, in a speech before West's last game at 1974 year.
OSCAR: “I told my players to keep their hands as high as possible and spread their fingers as wide as possible to cover more space. So Oscar threw between their fingers." - Red Auerbach, explaining why the Celtics couldn't stop Robertson in 1964
***
Elgin Baylor was named after his father. Four decades later, Elgin Baylor Lumpkin, an R&B artist better known by his pseudonym "Ginuwine", was named after him. Baylor, a six-foot, 100-pound forward who has spent his entire career with the Lakers, is a stylistic bridge between gentlemanly timekeeping and stuttering syncopation. He is considered the first truly bouncy player. However, as with the Wright brothers, his contribution should not be measured purely in jump feet.
When you watch Baylor's newsreel, don't expect him to kiss the ring in a jump, or to have the ball soar up over a sea of defenders at arm's length. Compared to those who would follow in his footsteps, Baylor played a more subtle game, punctuated by a series of zigzag dribbles and side slides that ended up as a drive to the basket or a high jumper. Athletic and cat-like fast, Baylor churned his opponent rather than trample him.
Problems with his studies nearly robbed Baylor of his college place. He went to Idaho College, initially on an American football scholarship, despite not having any relevant skills. Baylor spent one season in Idaho before moving on to the University of Seattle, seduced by fascinating memories of 175-centimeter twins John and Ed O'Brien playing under the rim. The O'Brien brothers led Seattle to victory over the still-strong Globetrotters at 1952nd. In 1956–57, his first season in Seattle, Baylor averaged almost 30 points and 20 rebounds per game.
After making the All-Academy Team the following year, Baylor decided to skip his senior year and enter the 1958 NBA Draft, a rare right at the time. For the first time, it sounded from his lips that he had exhausted everything that university basketball had prepared for him. Pacific College coach Van Sweet was particularly pleased with his turn to the pros, calling Baylor "too advanced for the varsity game." The weak Minneapolis Lakers took him first, expecting him to turn the team's game around and improve it significantly. Baylor did both. He scored 24.9points per game, including a 55-point performance, which at the time was the third most in league history.
***
DIVINE FAKE HEAD : Baylor had an advantage beyond purely basketball skills: a facial tick that frightened and embarrassed his guarding opponents.
***
In 1959, Wilt Chamberlain landed in the league, and all of a sudden Baylor's overall impact was reduced. Statistically, Wilt racked up big numbers, and in an era when national television broadcasts were rare, this gave him a place in newspaper headlines.
You can forget that Baylor himself averaged 34.8, 38.3 and 34 points per game in the season from 1960-61 through 1962-63, set an NBA record of 71 points in a game on November 15, 1960, and a record of 61 points in Game 5 of the 1962 Finals. But Wilt captured the public's attention to the point where he overshadowed Baylor. In retrospect, it's very strange to think that a big man can be more fun than an agile acrobat. To be sure, Baylor was the more agile player, circling the guards, dancing around them like a boxer, crashing into the centers, and doing it all with unimaginable ease. Perhaps Wilt, who delivered the ball to the basket in a more crude way, provided a more accessible (and even crazier) narrative of the game. It was more suited to the rules of the game of the early sixties, not to mention the then racial issue.
So Baylor seems to have taken a backseat as soon as he entered the league. He has never led the league in scoring. His most impressive performances came in the 1961-62 season when he served at Fort Lewis, Washington - as a member of the Army Reserve.
Joining the Lakers for games and practice only on the weekends, he was a ghost who exploded into a 38-point performance before reverting back to being a private in the army. All of this is the perfect metaphor for today's understanding of Baylor as a player.
***
STARS RECOGNIZE STARS : The success of Baylor and the Lakers in Los Angeles has made Memorial Arena a sweet spot for Hollywood stars. Among the most frequent match visitors are Dean Martin, Bing Crosby and Doris Day.
LITERAL LOCKOUT : At the 1964 All-Star Game, Baylor helped organize an uprising of players who protested the lack of pensions and locked themselves in the locker room. Bob Short banged on the door and demanded that Baylor and West come out, but they did not calm down. The players eventually earned their pensions, albeit rather meager ones.
***
Injuries followed soon after. Baylor's first knee trouble was in the 1963-64 season; in the 1965 playoffs, the upper part of his left kneecap was damaged and he underwent surgery to remove calcium deposits, followed by a long recovery over the summer - the credit of the doctor who treated baseball player Sandy Koufaks.
This saved Baylor's career but limited him as a player, he never scored more than 30 points in a game again. Baylor continued to be named to the national teams at the end of the season and strive for the coveted title, even as his collapsing joints began to measure out the rest of his career like an hourglass.
Theoretically, Baylor could have become a hostage to his fruitless run to the finals, and the martyrdom of 1972 could well have turned his story into a melancholy one. We want to see him as a seer, in order to at least cast aside negative thoughts. In the end, we are left with an image of a player who was ahead of his time and was not truly cohesive. But Elgin Baylor needs no pity. As Oscar Robertson said, "neither animals, nor vegetables, nor luminous green radioactive minerals could stop him." It's time for us to understand, without prejudice or fantasy, just how truly a great player Elgin Baylor was.
If Chamberlain cast his huge shadow on Baylor, then Lakers teammate Jerry West simply yelled at him.
Baylor was a messenger from another planet, West was a pure, unadulterated, thirst for victory. When the Lakers drafted West, a former star at West Virginia University, in 1960, they put together a combo for years. They were nicknamed Mister Inside (Baylor) and Mister Outside (West) because of their favorite areas on the court. However, it was Baylor - elusive and unpredictable - who was "outside" while West was always looking for an opportunity to rip someone's guts out. West was a seasoned scorer with an excellent shot, constantly looking for opportunities to intercept the ball, was a skilled passer and a tough son of a bitch who always played through pain. His lanky frame and broad shoulders gave him all the advantages of a wingspan that scouts today are crazy about. He never played cheekily, but there was some kind of internal stubbornness in him that made the blood run cold in his veins. But Jerry West's approach to the game was best emphasized by the nickname created by Chick Hearn - "Mr.
Clutch", quite strange for a player who has been second for so many years. West landed key shots so often that the nickname was more of an assertion than a compliment. When Jerry charged from sixty feet, posting Game 3 of the Final 1970 years into overtime, this was one of the least amazing marvels in the history of the sport.
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LOGO : As everyone knows, the NBA logo is based on the silhouette of Jerry West. The only other athlete to be featured on his sport's logo is Jim Ferry, a former PGA Tournament of Champions golfer. Commissioner Dean Beman chose Ferry for his unusual knickers, which made the Tournament of Champions logo look different from the PGA logo, but still similar to it.
Rivalries NEVER DIE : West's personal dislike of the Celtics as a team continued well into his retirement. In fact, as he says, there is not a single piece of green in his wardrobe.
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An obsessive perfectionist, West lived in a basketball universe where there were no chances, only tasks he had to complete.
This was especially evident when the game-winning shot at the end of the match was already up in the air. West said in an interview that "it was much easier for him in the late game", the logic is completely opposite to the opinion of any other athlete for whom the last minutes of the match are complete chaos. Again, some people go crazy when the full moon comes out, while others get furred and go hunting. A native of a small town in West Virginia who grew up dreaming of his own Mountaineers jersey, West was often portrayed as a redneck and mocked for his high-pitched voice and heavy Appalachian accent. The nickname "The Old Man from Cabin Creek", which the media tried to stick to him, disgusted West. He may have been a calm and pleasant person in life, but as a player he was painfully tense and remorselessly shy. His modesty was unsettling, burning.
The disappointments of the Lakers in the 1960s labeled his teammate Baylor, but for West it was nothing short of torture.
In his opinion, there were no contingencies, accidents or fateful moments in the game; the game was somewhere between obligation and predestination, while every slip or loss was a setback that shouldn't have happened. It was all imprinted in his mind like a strange sub-species of basketball Calvinism. His wife, Jane, once told reporters, “Jerry never thinks he is destined to lose. He believes he will win. He is infinitely confident. It would be easier if, when losing, he felt that it was destined to be so. But he is always sure that he will win. You see, that’s why he takes defeat so hard.”
Losses didn't just hurt West, or the Lakers, they disrupted the natural order of the cosmos. This explains why he often disappeared for several days after major lesions. It was like a spiritual crisis.
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MULTIPLE KINDS OF MR. CLUTCH
Jerry West holds the title of one of the best players in decisive moments in NBA history, but given the primitive state of basketball statistics in his era (in the NBA until West's last season, even blocks and interceptions were not taken into account, not to mention a detailed record of the game), it is very difficult to get a complete picture of his performances.
What we know is that in his fourteen seasons in the league, West played 189matches with a difference of 2 points or less. Using newspaper data from each of those 189 games, we were able to assemble a rough portrait of his clutch career. What stands out is not just buzzer beaters, but a huge variety of them, both in the opponent's and in their own half of the court, especially in the late stage of the playoffs.
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What made West's absolutism all the more remarkable was his list of injuries. He took on the burden of infallibility with a body that was rarely (if ever) on his side. Sitting on the bench due to injury for West was an insult to the natural course of things. He had to be on the court to win, because that's how the stars were. Intoxicated with adrenaline and anxiety, he mostly just ignored injuries so that nothing would happen in his absence as the season progressed. He broke his nose nine times, tore his cruciate ligaments, and received multiple sprains.
Game 7 of the Final 1970 is known for the feat of Willis Reid as he overcame a thigh injury to score twice and play some ineffective minutes. West, meanwhile, had a nasty shooting thumb injury since the third game. He needed injections right into his finger, but he continued to play, hitting 9 of 19 shots in a lost match, a kind of self-flagellation. Chamberlain at one point complained that West was being praised for his prowess while his black partners were being stonewalled if they dared to miss a game. However, West showed the world the difference between injury proneness and softness.
Jerry ended his career in 1974 at the age of 36, still an elite player, but afraid that one day his body would finally betray him, as Baylor did. He coached the Lakers for three years, reaching the 1977 Conference Finals, moving to scouting, and being named general manager in the 1982-83 season. By the time he left the organization in 2002, he was the proud owner of seven more championship rings - perhaps the only 7 seasons out of 20 for which he did not reproach himself for anything.
During the Kobe-Shaka three-pit, he set up the camera and recorded the games, reviewing them later. His level of anxiety was too high, especially since he had less and less power to influence what he considered inevitable. There was another round as the savior of the Memphis Grizzlies, whom he turned from a ridiculous team into a playoff-level team before leaving in 2007.
In 2009, he announced that he had suffered from atrial fibrillation throughout his playing career, which explained his constant feeling of anxiety. While the news reinforced the myth of West as a crude, grotesque angel of war, it also added some sad thoughts. Let's just pray for famous people.
One can spend days debating what hurts more: spending decades shying away from one's dreams and hopes, or fighting and scratching just to look through a keyhole. Baylor and West felt the dream slip through their fingers every summer. But they could safely assume that they would return next year.
By comparison, Oscar Robertson spent his best years playing basketball as hard as a mortal man can, and yet he found himself wandering around the mall close to closing like the rest of the Saturday shoppers. During the ten years of the Oscars in Cincinnati, the Royals hit a 421-385 balance sheet, close to the Lakers' record. Finishing second or third in the conference between 1962 to 1967, they made it to the conference finals twice. However, these numbers do not reflect the total futility of Robertson's time at the Royals. For two years they played in the West, then in the East, where they were caught in the crossfire of the battle between Wilt and the Celtics. Having dragged out the East Final with Boston in 1963 until Game 7, they were poised to open up a kind of "second front" for the Celtics, or at least become a perpetually annoying gadfly.
But their peak roster with Robertson and Jack Twyman at the backcourt and forwards Jerry Lucas and Bob Boozer slowly crumbled.
But even then, the Royals continued to grow and show what Robertson's team was capable of, bringing Boston to a full five-game streak in the first round of 1966 years old. But the new owner had other problems, like scheduling games at neutral venues for concession contracts for a hot dog business. Bad deals went left and right, everything fell apart, and in 1969 Bob Cousy was named head coach. Kuzi - who later admitted he only came back for the money - wanted the team to run, play fast, and Oskar wanted to play a ruthless, viscous game. These two basketball clichés clashed with truly Darwinian consequences. In addition, each demanded more respect than the other was willing to give. When Cousi went so far as to even resume his career for a few games while Robertson allegedly feigned injury, the situation became openly hostile, with the press supporting Cousi. The Royals continued to slide down; the playoffs have become a distant memory. Eventually, Robertson worked out a life-changing trade with Milwaukee.
Robertson's legacy, however, is not in what his teams did, but in how he played. For most of the decade, Robertson was responsible for what is considered the most complete basketball ever played on the floor. Just as Wilt's greatness is often portrayed in terms of 100 points, Oscar's reputation is exalted in epithet form: he averaged a triple-double per game in 1961-62. Robertson was not a scorer on the level of Chamberlain or Baylor (and who was?), and both beat him in the rebounds. But Oscar was a big defender who had to carry the offense, sometimes even taking on the responsibility of being the player-manager on the court. The triple-double was more than just a number, it was an indicator of a person who was everywhere on the floor. During his basketball development, Robertson played all positions. He had the instincts and rebounding skills of a forward; his throw and ability to get inside on the dribble made his marking akin to the most brutal chess game; he drew enough attention to himself to create a ton of open shots for partners; and he always sought to take advantage of the created unequal exchange.
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ANTI-INDIANA : When Oscar was at Crispus Attucks, his team lost to the modest Mylan High in the 1954 state playoffs. The game was the inspiration for the movie Hoosiers, featuring Crispus Attacks coach Ray Crowe in a cameo role, but that Crispus Attacks lineup was still one of the best high school teams in history.
TRIPLE DOUBLE TO DEATH : Age at which players would be able to beat the Oscars record of 181 triple-doubles, based on their yearly average rating (as of 2009)year), or if they had not retired and continued to collect triple-doubles at the same pace.
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Recent advances in statistics have shown that if every season was as crazy as the 1961/62 season, an Oscar triple-double on average wouldn't be such an exceptional achievement. Players like Magic Johnson (who made this feat significant simply because it was a benchmark for him, not a question), Jason Kidd and LeBron James could squeeze that out of themselves.
However, Robertson himself noted that if you add up the statistics of his first five seasons, you still average a triple-double. Moving on: In his 2003 memoir, Robertson refers to Willie Mays saying that Jose Canseco became a member of the 40/40 club. . per.): “If I knew how cool it is, I would have achieved such indicators several times myself,” implying that if Robertson really cared about it, he could grab a couple more rebounds for another triple. Oscar mocked statistics not out of modesty, but because he had to keep track of too many columns of numbers. He knew that his game brought an avalanche of numbers to basketball. Today, he dismisses the idea that one rebound there or one assist here can really make that much of a difference.
But there is a note of bitterness that is perhaps Robertson's most misunderstood aspect. Even in the early admirable seasons, Oscar came across as a loyal but erratic teammate; the press in Cincinnati liked to portray him as capricious, overbearing.
There was a grain of truth in all of this - Robertson grew up in Indiana when the Ku Klux Klan dominated the state, and he experienced a lot of psychological pain, which he necessarily kept to himself. Robertson spent most of his time at the Dust Cauldron, his area's outdoor playground, where he learned that being rude on the playground was a ritual, not a sign of weakness, and that was the right of those who had proven their worth. It was a fair version of the world that had nothing to do with its everyday reality, and so Robertson put his heart and soul into it.
In the game, from the stands or from the court, insults could be heard from white, but Robertson could silence everyone with a great throw. When his Crispus Attack Tigers became the first all-black team—the state champions in 1954—this belief in the game was not only an escape from reality, but a kind of utopia—although the city did not allow the Tigers and their fans to celebrate downtown, sending the championship parade to the black quarters of the city.
Robertson was one of five athletes who transferred to the University of Cincinnati, convinced that life there would be different. But even though he did not face active hostility on the university campus, he was still very lonely. Much of the city was still segregated. He had a few black families he knew who served as his lifeline, yet Robertson continued to struggle with shyness and pent-up anger. He was betrayed by a Sports Illustrated reporter who seemed to earn his credibility during the interview, and from that point on, Robertson treated the media with suspicion, if not outright hostility.
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THE MOTHER OF INVENTION : Unable to afford a real basketball as a child, Robertson made one himself from rags tied with rubber bands. Some other unique player habits out of necessity:
Marquis Haynes : Legendary countless hours of dribbling around the local railroad.
Bob Cousy : As a child, he fell out of a tree and broke his right arm, causing him to dribble with his left until the other healed; because of this, he almost became an ambidexter.
Pete Maravich : Practiced dribbling two miles a day, running up and down the nearest basketball court. He later learned to dribble while riding a bicycle. His father, a tough basketball coach, forced him to dribble blindly, wearing gloves, outside the window of a moving car.
Bill Bradley : During one summer vacation, Bradley was forced to practice dribbling in the narrow corridors of the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship, using passenger companions as moving obstacles. During this activity, he wore a ten-pound weight in each shoe and special homemade goggles with cardboard inserts on the sides to limit vision.
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PARTNER CARDS : The season before Robertson joined Cincinnati, swinger Jack Twyman became the first NBA player to average 30 points per game in a season. With Oscar, Twyman never averaged over 25.3 and only topped 20 twice more in his career, proving once and for all that Big O had a negative effect on teammates.
Or is it a story that at least lives up to Oscar's reputation. In fact, Twyman's seasons with the Oscars were a rough reflection of his performance prior to their reunion, suggesting that the 30-point season was more of an accident.
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By the beginning of his professional career, Robertson was a tangle of contradictions: polite and simple around those he trusted, stony in public, and explosive around those who did not respect his boundaries. He fought in every corner of the court, and despite shouting at teammates who did not live up to expectations, Robertson did not fully prove himself on the floor. All of this may explain why the media learned to take Robertson for granted, resorting to open ridicule towards the end of his Cincinnati era. Perhaps they wanted him to be more talkative, to show himself as a leader, or at least to show a spark that would belie his purely practical behavior. It didn't help that Robertson had been heavily involved in the players' union since its inception and eventually allowed his name to be included in the lawsuit that led to the founding of the NBA's free agency.
Maybe it would be helpful if Oscar had ups and downs to captivate the fans, so to speak. Instead, they had the phlegmatic Robertson, each game reaching the logical limit of human ability on the basketball court - and the limit of how much one person can contribute to his team's piggy bank.
Robertson found some redemption (humility, if you insist) in the Bucks. When the reporters' cameras caught up with Oscar just after a dead-beat final against the Baltimore Bullets, he was smiling broadly, his whole face relaxed for a moment. But his eyes remained unchanged, as if they were banishing pretense from the audience, which was forced to be grateful to him. This is the paradox of that era, and as time went on it became more pronounced. The Celtics held the NBA championship by making fools of diva players, making them go out of their way for a single ring. Looking back four decades, all of these titles are eroding into one giant trophy for Russell and company. At the same time, Baylor, West, and Robertson survived as folk heroes and forerunners of even more talent to come.
