Reactions to Jerry West’s death pour in from across sports world: ‘A basketball genius’

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 18: Jerry West and Magic Johnson attend the NBA All-Star Game 2018 at Staples Center on February 18, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
By Ngwa Numfor
Jun 12, 2024

Jerry West, the iconic Los Angeles Lakers guard who inspired the NBA’s silhouetted logo and later built one of basketball’s greatest dynasties, died Wednesday. He was 86 years old.

The NBA icon had a storied career as a player and executive. He was a nine-time NBA champion (once as a player with the Lakers in 1972 and eight as an executive), 14-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA First Team selection, the 1969 Finals MVP and a two-time executive of the year. He had been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame three times: as a player in 1980, as a member of the 1960 gold medal-winning Olympic team in Rome and later this year as a contributor.

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Tributes from teams, players and owners began to pour in Wednesday following news of West’s death. NBA commissioner Adam Silver called the Hall of Famer a “basketball genius and a defining figure in our league for more than 60 years” in a statement.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer recalled the moment he met West seven years ago and how those in his presence “felt his competitiveness and his drive.”

 

West was the second pick in the 1960 NBA Draft and named an All-Star each season of his 14-year career. In 1969, he won the first Finals MVP despite the Lakers losing to the Boston Celtics in seven games. It’s the only time the award went to a player on the losing team.

Later, West would lead the Lakers to a title in 1972 and then become head coach in 1976. He took his team to the playoffs each of the three years he was at the helm before moving into the role of general manager in 1982, where he built the “Showtime” Lakers dynasty. L.A. went to the finals eight times and won four championships with West as executive. The legendary point guard for that Lakers dynasty, Magic Johnson, paid tribute to his friend.

Miami Heat president Pat Riley was West’s teammate on the ’72 Lakers title team and later coached the Lakers to four NBA championships in the 1980s.

“I loved Jerry West! We loved being Lakers together; it was sacred ground,” Riley said in a statement released by the Heat. “We grew in life with each other and shared the best and worst of times together. We can only hope there is someone we meet during a crucial time in our lives that will change you in ways you could dream about.

“Jerry was that person for me.”

 

West’s accomplishments went beyond the Lakers. He worked for the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors front offices before joining the LA Clippers in an advisory position in 2017. Here’s more reactions as the sports world paid tribute to “Mr. Clutch.”

West resonated with players today as well, including Lakers forward LeBron James, who, along with West, has received more than 10 All-NBA First Team nods.

 

 

 

Required reading

• Jerry West, NBA great, Hall of Famer and Lakers icon passes away at 86
• What was Jerry West really like? On the phone with him, the NBA universe opened up
• NBA75: West was ‘Mr. Clutch’ and forever will be brutally honest about himself

(Photo of Jerry West and Magic Johnson: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)

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