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Jerry West, NBA Legend, Dead at 86: ‘The Personification of Basketball Excellence’

matt webb mitovich
·2-min read

NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West died on Wednesday morning at the age of 86.

The Los Angeles Clippers, for whom West had been working as a consultant, announced his passing, saying, “the personification of basketball excellence and a friend to all who knew him, passed away peacefully this morning at the age of 86. His wife, Karen, was by his side.”

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West played college ball for the West Virginia Mountaineers from 1957-1960. He was then drafted as a first round pick by the Los Angeles née Minneapolis Lakers, and played for the team through 1974.

West coached the Lakers from 1976 to 1979, and then as general manager helped build the 1980s Lakers dynasty that was dubbed “Showtime” (and chronicled in the HBO series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty).

“Jerry West was a basketball genius and a defining figure in our league for more than 60 years,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “He distinguished himself not only as an NBA champion and an All-Star in all 14, of his playing seasons, but also as a consummate competitor who embraced the biggest moments. He was the league’s first Finals MVP and made rising to the occasion his signature quality, earning him the nickname Mr. Clutch.

“Jerry’s four decades with the Lakers also included a successful stint as a head coach and a remarkable run in the front office that cemented his reputation as one of the greatest executives in sports history,” Silver continued. “He helped build eight championship teams during his tenure in the NBA – a legacy of achievement that mirrors his on court excellence. And he will be enshrined this October into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor, becoming the first person ever inducted as both a player and a contributor.”

Also, West’s silhouette was the basis for the NBA logo.

“Just a brilliant, brilliant basketball mind, somebody who loved the game, somebody who cared passionately about the game, about uplifting the game,” Stephen A. Smith said Wednesday morning on ESPN’s First Take. “He is going to be sorely missed.”

“Where do you begin to describe a person’s career?” Mike Greenberg said on ESPN’s Get Up, after announcing West’s passing. “It has been argued, and I would argue it loudly, that there aren’t a handful of people who had more significant careers in basketball than Jerry West did — first as a player, one of the greats collegiate players ever, an Olympian, and one of the greatest NBA players ever.”

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