On Wednesday, June 12, 2024, the NBA lost a huge icon of the sport in Jerry West, the Los Angeles Lakers legend who put a stamp on the game both as a player and as an executive. West, who served as the inspiration of the association’s timeless logo, had passed away at the age of 86. His legacy throughout his 64 years as a legend of the game will live on forever, as he was one of the pioneers who pushed the boundaries of the game.
West was not afraid to take risks, and this led to the immense success he had in every stop of his throughout his illustrious career. But no risk he took may have been more precarious than the one he took as the Lakers’ general manager during the 1996 offseason. Fresh off a 53-win season, the Lakers saw an end of an era after Magic Johnson decided to retire for good. They still had a nice core of Vlade Divac, Eddie Jones, and Nick Van Exel, but West saw an opportunity to lift the Lakers back to championship heights after stagnating over the past few seasons.
West was not afraid to take risks, and this led to the immense success he had in every stop of his throughout his illustrious career. But no risk he took may have been more precarious than the one he took as the Lakers’ general manager during the 1996 offseason. Fresh off a 53-win season, the Lakers saw an end of an era after Magic Johnson decided to retire for good. They still had a nice core of Vlade Divac, Eddie Jones, and Nick Van Exel, but West saw an opportunity to lift the Lakers back to championship heights after stagnating over the past few seasons.
Jerry West’s plan required a ton of patience, however. After all, he had just put all of the Lakers’ eggs in the basket of an 18-year old guard coming out of Lower Merion named Kobe Bryant, trading away starting center Vlade Divac, someone who averaged 13-9-3 in 1996, to the Charlotte Hornets for the 13th overall pick of that year’s draft.
The Lakers had supreme confidence that Shaquille O’Neal, a 27-13 beast during his days with the Orlando Magic, was going to join them in free agency, so they had no qualms about trading away their starting center over the past six seasons. But to do so in exchange for an unproven 18-year old guard out of high school? That took some guts. But courage was something West had in spades. West had to sell O’Neal on the idea that Kobe Bryant was going to emerge as one of the best players in the league eventually. But doing so wasn’t particularly difficult. After all, West had earned his reputation for being one of the best decision-makers and talent evaluators the league has ever seen. Surely enough, Bryant improved year after year, and by his fourth season, the Lakers were a championship team, and from 2000 to 2002, they stood tall on the league’s totem pole, with Bryant and O’Neal forming arguably the best duo in NBA history.
Bryant had perhaps the most legendary work ethic the league has ever seen, and his incredible competitive spirit made him an icon who stands for so much more than himself even after he unfortunately passed in January 2020. The Black Mamba would have been a Hall of Famer regardless of which team he ended up on, but thanks to Jerry West, it was the Lakers franchise that benefitted from Bryant’s illustrious career that spanned two decades. Jerry West was ahead of his time as a basketball player; he was shooting long-range jumpers way before they counted for three points. It took a while for the Lakers to win a championship with West (he was in his 12th season when he did break through), but it was through no fault of his own, as he put up 27-6-7 during his career while averaging 29-6-6 in the postseason.
West remains the only player in NBA history to win the Finals MVP award on a losing team, and deservedly so, as he averaged 38-5-7 in a hard-fought seven-game series against the Boston Celtics. But beyond his greatness as a player, his career as an executive was so much better.West remains the only player in NBA history to win the Finals MVP award on a losing team, and deservedly so, as he averaged 38-5-7 in a hard-fought seven-game series against the Boston Celtics. But beyond his greatness as a player, his career as an executive was so much better.
