Jerry West, the Hall of Fame player and executive who was the inspiration for the NBA logo, has died at age 86, the LA Clippers announced Wednesday.
West was the third player in NBA history to reach 25,000 points, was an All-Star every year of his career and led the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Finals nine times, winning one title in 1971-72.
After his playing career, West found title success as an NBA executive, building the Showtime Lakers of the 1980s that won five titles in that decade and overseeing the formation the Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant tandem. West stayed for just the first title in 2000 as the Lakers went on to three-peat.
He became an adviser for the Clippers starting in 2017, helping to engineer the breakup of the team’s “Lob City” core that led the way to the signing of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Clippers reached the Western Conference finals for the first time in 2021.
West was a two-time All-American at West Virginia, where he averaged 24.8 points per game and helped the Mountaineers to the 1959 NCAA championship game. He also teamed with Oscar Robertson to lead the U.S. to a gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Source Agencies
