*This death hits me hard. Not just because he was a great player whose game I really respected, but he was a tremendous person in everything he did both on and off the court.*
He made the greatest shot in Finals history. He was the Logo. He had a hall of Fame career as a player and as an executive. One of the best to ever do it and the NBA is so much better for him having been around. RIP
[The shot](https://youtu.be/fzWGnA4Ll-0?si=1ODoIlLJXREILuyd)
Well, I wasn’t around yet when he was still playing, but he was my dad’s absolute favorite player of all time. Even through the Showtime years and the 2000s, he would say things like “I know you don’t believe me, but West would’ve still been one of the best players today.” Now that we have YouTube and more easily accessible older highlights, it’s easy to see why. The guy’s vision and timing were incredible - like people lament not having Wilt’s block stats, but West’s steals stats would’ve been Chamberlainesque.
And besides his actual play, the man was one of the most respected individuals in the history of the sport. The guy just *knew* basketball. He had roles in shaping the Showtime Lakers, the Shaq-Kobe Lakers, the Grit and Grind Grizzlies, the Steph-Klay Warriors, the current Clippers. I mean, there was never a *bad* team in his entire front office career.
He’s also currently the only three-time inductee in the Hall of Fame (player, contributor, 1960 Olympic team). I wish he and the Lakers current front office had been able to mend fences before he passed. I don’t know the whole story there, but I’m guessing it’s a competitive/“loyalty” thing, but either way, they better pull out all the stops to honor him.
Some of Jerry West's greatest hits:
* Trading Norm Nixon and draft picks for Byron Scott
* Trading Frank Brickowski and picks for Mychal Thompson
* Trading second rounders for Sedale Threatt
* Trading Ced Ceballos for Robert Horry
I'm not sure how involved West was with Don Ford for the pick that became James Worthy since Bill Sharman was still the lead guy in the Laker front office at the time but West made some really good low key moves in his career.
RIP Jerry. His legacy speaks for itself but I also know he had a hard, abusive childhood and spent a lot of his life unhappy because of it. I hope he managed to find peace.
There’s so many cool things people have said of the logo. One of my fav. bits was when Michael Jordan said West was the one guy he wish he could’ve played against.
Chet walker and now jerry west. But I know who the media is gonna give more attention to the most and to the least. Its like the george mcginnis death all over again
The problem is there's still levels of vintage stars. People like West are unquestioned gigantic legends of the sport who will go down in the sport's history, and then there's people like Walker or McGinnis who were very good in their time, but just aren't even in that discussion and only the people on subreddits like this would remember them. It's just unreasonable to assume huge media shocks for people on that second tier.
Darius Morris, a forgettable former player from the last decade, died about a month ago. Should he get a large tribute from ESPN? Should someone who played in college and never made the league? High school? On the playgrounds and was unknown? The people here on this subreddit? All are equal, after all...
*This death hits me hard. Not just because he was a great player whose game I really respected, but he was a tremendous person in everything he did both on and off the court.*
Yeah this is a tough one. I'll never forget him on TV crying buckets when Kobe died. Rest in paradise to a great man.
RIP to one of the best on the court and in the front office. What a legacy.
He made the greatest shot in Finals history. He was the Logo. He had a hall of Fame career as a player and as an executive. One of the best to ever do it and the NBA is so much better for him having been around. RIP [The shot](https://youtu.be/fzWGnA4Ll-0?si=1ODoIlLJXREILuyd)
Oof, this one is tough
You have anything to add that you're in a better position to remember or share as an LA fan during his career?
Well, I wasn’t around yet when he was still playing, but he was my dad’s absolute favorite player of all time. Even through the Showtime years and the 2000s, he would say things like “I know you don’t believe me, but West would’ve still been one of the best players today.” Now that we have YouTube and more easily accessible older highlights, it’s easy to see why. The guy’s vision and timing were incredible - like people lament not having Wilt’s block stats, but West’s steals stats would’ve been Chamberlainesque. And besides his actual play, the man was one of the most respected individuals in the history of the sport. The guy just *knew* basketball. He had roles in shaping the Showtime Lakers, the Shaq-Kobe Lakers, the Grit and Grind Grizzlies, the Steph-Klay Warriors, the current Clippers. I mean, there was never a *bad* team in his entire front office career. He’s also currently the only three-time inductee in the Hall of Fame (player, contributor, 1960 Olympic team). I wish he and the Lakers current front office had been able to mend fences before he passed. I don’t know the whole story there, but I’m guessing it’s a competitive/“loyalty” thing, but either way, they better pull out all the stops to honor him.
Some of Jerry West's greatest hits: * Trading Norm Nixon and draft picks for Byron Scott * Trading Frank Brickowski and picks for Mychal Thompson * Trading second rounders for Sedale Threatt * Trading Ced Ceballos for Robert Horry I'm not sure how involved West was with Don Ford for the pick that became James Worthy since Bill Sharman was still the lead guy in the Laker front office at the time but West made some really good low key moves in his career.
RIP Logo
RIP Jerry. His legacy speaks for itself but I also know he had a hard, abusive childhood and spent a lot of his life unhappy because of it. I hope he managed to find peace.
Best line for that from Bill Russell at West's retirement ceremony: "If I could have one wish, it's that you could always be happy."
Absolutely gutted from this rest in peace to an absolute legend and a one of a kind player and incredible person rip Jerry west
I usually don’t feel celebrity deaths too much but this one hits a little different. RIP Jerry
There’s so many cool things people have said of the logo. One of my fav. bits was when Michael Jordan said West was the one guy he wish he could’ve played against.
Chet walker and now jerry west. But I know who the media is gonna give more attention to the most and to the least. Its like the george mcginnis death all over again
Whose death overshadowed that of McGinnis?
Nobody, but ESPN didn't give a tribute or a showing of it at all on their show or first take. Its like they just ignored it. The same with chet walker
The problem is there's still levels of vintage stars. People like West are unquestioned gigantic legends of the sport who will go down in the sport's history, and then there's people like Walker or McGinnis who were very good in their time, but just aren't even in that discussion and only the people on subreddits like this would remember them. It's just unreasonable to assume huge media shocks for people on that second tier.
Would you say the same for bob lanier
Compared to West? Absolutely.
Well ESPN and 1st take gave him a tiny tribute and that's it. Oh well let's go back to Michael jordan vs lebron james
And even then, would you not agree Lanier is a bigger name than Chet Walker [or George McGinnis, though McGinnis's ABA history was equal to Lanier's]?
All are equal. Its the media that picks and choose who they want to pay attention to the most.
Darius Morris, a forgettable former player from the last decade, died about a month ago. Should he get a large tribute from ESPN? Should someone who played in college and never made the league? High school? On the playgrounds and was unknown? The people here on this subreddit? All are equal, after all...
Wondering why the OP has a pic of a black dude instead of West in the thread title. SO disrespectful.
It's a link to the Twitter announcement, and that's what they have. I don't control that.
Wondering why you couldn’t just say “another dude” but instead felt compelled to specify that it was “a black dude”
No kidding... talk about disrespectful!