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Jerry West, the basketball legend whose silhouette still serves as the NBA's logo, has passed away at 86. The Los Angeles Clippers revealed the news Wednesday, stating that West's wife Karen was by his side.
Known as 'Zeke from Cabin Creek,' the West Virginia native teamed with Elgin Baylor to turn the Los Angeles Lakers into a perennial contender in the 1960s, which unfortunately coincided with Bill Russell's dominance with the rival Boston Celtics. Upon Russell's retirement in 1969, West and Wilt Chamberlain led the Lakers to the 1972 NBA title, albeit without the retired Baylor.
Chamberlain and Baylor died in 1999 and 2021, respectively. West, meanwhile, went on to have a remarkable front-office career, winning eight NBA crowns and two Executive of the Year awards. He was still serving in an executive role with the Clippers at the time of his death.
News of West's passing sparked an immediate outpouring of grief from fellow basketball legends Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
'I am so deeply saddened at the news of Jerry's passing,' Jordan wrote in a statement provided to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. 'He was truly a friend and a mentor. Like an older brother to me. ... Rest in Peace, Logo.'
Karen West, former NBA player Jerry West and son Jonnie West at an event in 2012
Jerry West looks on walking up court against the Milwaukee Bucks during a 1972 game
'Will truly miss our convos my dear friend!' James wrote on X. 'My thoughts and prayers goes out to your wonderful family! Forever love Jerry! Rest in Paradise my guy!
In their statement, the Clippers described West as 'the personification of basketball excellence and a friend to all who knew him.'
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued his own statement on Wednesday.
'Jerry West was a basketball genius and a defining figure in our league for more than 60 years,' Silver wrote. '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.''
'I valued my friendship with Jerry and the knowledge he shared with me over many years about basketball and life,' Silver continued. 'On behalf of the NBA, we send our deepest condolences to Jerry's wife, Karen, his family and his many friends in the NBA community.'
Jerry West's superlative playing career was followed by a forgettable stint as Lakers coach
Jerry West, Karen West and Ryan West attend a fashion show together in September of 2019
West's on-court success often came at a price. As he admitted years later, the 6-foot-3 guard typically battled depression in the offseason, much of which was tied to his six NBA Finals defeats to the hated Celtics.
'I would go to bed feeling like I didn't even want to live,' West told HBO. 'I've been so low sometimes and when everyone else would be so high because I didn't like myself.'
In his autobiography, 'West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life,' the West Virginia University legend wrote that he went unloved as a child and was often the focus of his abusive father's rage.
A mostly private figure, West had been with Karen since 1978 and they had two sons, Ryan and Jonnie, the later of whom played basketball at his father's alma mater and later married golfer Michelle Wie.
Previously West was married to his college sweetheart, with whom he had three sons: David, Mark and Michael.
The iconic NBA logo was made by using the silhouette of Lakers legend Jerry West
To many, West is known simply as 'The Logo.'
Legend has it that the current NBA shield was created by Alan Siegel in 1969 by incorporating West's silhouette from a photo taken by Wen Roberts.
The logo was modeled after Major League Baseball's, which was a silhouette of a player that many erroneously believe to be Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew. (The image is supposedly a composite of several players in the late 1960s).
The West logo debuted in 1971, and although the NBA has never confirmed that it is, indeed, him, there have been no denials either.
'It sure looks a lot like him,' a coy Silver said in 2021.
Siegel has since confirmed in interviews that West was, in fact, the inspiration for the design.
'I saw the picture of Jerry West,' Siegel told NBA.com in 2021. 'Of course I watched him in college and the NBA. I always admired him, but I liked the picture because it was a nice vertical and had this motion to it.'
He offered more detail a decade earlier, telling the LA Times in 2010: 'It had a nice flavor to it, so I took that picture and we traced it. It was perfect. It was vertical and it had a sense of movement. It was just one of those things that clicked.'
The current NBA logo was created by Alan Siegel in 1969 by incorporating Los Angeles Lakers star Jerry West's silhouette from a photo (above) taken by Wen Roberts
The second-overall pick in the 1960 draft and a gold medalist at the 1960 Rome Games, West was named to 14 All-Star teams during his career, while averaging 27 points a game. He won the NBA's scoring title in 1970, led the league in assists in 1972, and has since had his No. 44 retired by the Lakers.
West went on to have an unsuccessful three-year run as Lakers head coach before taking up a scouting role and then becoming the team's general manager during the famed 'Showtime' era.
In the 80s and early 90s, West was credited with acquiring Lakers stars such as James Worthy, Byron Scott, AC Green, Vlade Divac, Nick Van Exel, and Derek Fisher.
Later, West built the Lakers team that won three NBA titles between 2000 and 2002 with Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and coach Phil Jackson.
West famously acquired Bryant at the 1996 NBA Draft by trading Divac to the Charlotte Hornets for the rights to the 17-year-old phenom. Bryant rewarded West by winning the NBA' Sixth Man of the Year award as a rookie, and ultimately becoming an 18-time All-Star.
West later described himself as Bryant's surrogate father due to their close bond.
He left the Lakers to become general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies in 2002 before a brief retirement five years later. West ultimately earned his seventh and eighth titles as an executive with Golden State in 2015 and 2017, albeit in a secondary role.
He also joined the board of the Clippers in 2017, helping to successfully recruit two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard as a free agent in 2020.
All-American Jerry West tries to look his normal calm self as he poses with Yvonne DeCarlo
It was West who brought Kobe Bryant to the Lakers with a draft-day trade for Vlade Divac
Los Angeles Lakers guard Jerry West (44), Wilt Chamberlain (13), and Elgin Baylor (22)
West's All-Star NBA career gave way to lifelong friendships with players like Chamberlain
Jerry West is pictured in 2018 alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (left) and Bill Russell (right)
West, right, passes the ball to Wilt Chamberlain during an NBA Finals game against the Knicks
West was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Donald Trump in 2019.
'You know, it never ceases to amaze me the places you can go in this world chasing a bouncing ball,' West told reporters at the time. 'My chase began in Chelyan, West Virginia, where I strung a wire basket with no net to the side of a bridge. If your shot didn't go in, the ball rolled down a long bank and you would be chasing it forever. So, you better make it.
'I was a dreamer. My family didn't have much, but we had a clear view of the Appalachian Mountains, and I'd sit alone on our front porch and wonder, ''If I ever make it to the top of that mountain, what will I see on the other side?''
'Well, I did make it to the other side, and my dreams have come true. I've been able to see the sides, thanks to that bouncing ball.'
Trump presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jerry West in September of 2019
Many younger generations of players became familiar with West during Summer League play, where he would often evaluate the NBA's young talent.
'The game transcends many things,' West told The Associated Press while attending Summer League last year. 'The players change, the style of play may change, but the respect that you learn in this game never changes.'
Tributes have been flooding social media since the tragedy was announced.
The Los Angeles Dodgers called West 'an indelible figure on the Los Angeles sports landscape for more than 60 years,' and the NBA will do a tribute before Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
'Jerry West is one of my favorite people that I had the honor to get to know in the NBA,' Miami Heat managing general partner Micky Arison said Wednesday. 'He welcomed me to the league, offered advice from the first day, and asked nothing in return. He will be missed.'