1. Jerry Alan West was an American basketball player and executive.
81 Facts About Jerry West
1. 2.
Jerry West played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
3.
Jerry West earned the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player honor despite the loss in the championship.
4.
Jerry West then embarked on a 14-year career with the Lakers and was the co-captain of the 1960 US Olympic gold medal team, a squad that was inducted as a unit into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
5.
Jerry West holds the NBA record for the highest points per game average in a playoff series with 46.3.
6.
Jerry West was a member of the first five NBA All-Defensive Teams, which were introduced when he was 32 years old.
7.
In 1980, Jerry West was inducted into the Hall of Fame and named to the NBA 35th Anniversary Team.
8.
Jerry West was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, and to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
9.
Jerry West led Los Angeles into the playoffs each year and earned a Western Conference finals berth once.
10.
In 2002, Jerry West became general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies and helped the franchise win their first-ever playoff berths.
11.
Jerry West won two more NBA titles as a consultant with the Golden State Warriors.
12.
Jerry West was born into a poor household in Chelyan, Jerry West Virginia, on May 28,1938.
13.
Jerry West was the fifth of six children of Cecil Sue West, a housewife, and Howard Stewart West, a coal mine electrician.
14.
Jerry West was an outgoing and aggressive child in his youth.
15.
Jerry West spent days shooting baskets from every possible angle, ignoring mud and snow in the backyard, as well as his mother's whippings when he came home hours late for dinner.
16.
Jerry West attended East Bank High School in East Bank, Jerry West Virginia, from 1952 to 1956.
17.
Jerry West eventually became the team's starting small forward, and he quickly established himself as one of the finest Jerry West Virginia high school players of his generation.
18.
Jerry West represented East Bank High School at a high level on and off the court, attending the 1955 session of Mountaineer Boys State and was named All-State from 1953 to 1956, then All-American in 1956 when he was West Virginia Player of the Year, becoming the state's first high-school player to score more than 900 points in a season, with an average of 32.2 points per game.
19.
Jerry West graduated from East Bank High School in 1956, and more than 60 universities showed interest in him.
20.
Jerry West eventually chose to stay in his home state and attend West Virginia University, located in Morgantown.
21.
Jerry West was named Most Outstanding Player of that year's Final Four.
22.
Jerry West was named to be a member of the US Pan American Games basketball team that won the gold medal.
23.
Jerry West demonstrated his tenacity for the game in a match against the Kentucky Wildcats.
24.
Jerry West broke his nose during an incident in the game, but he continued to play despite intense pain and having to breathe through his mouth.
25.
Jerry West scored 19 points in the second half, leading WVU to an upset victory.
26.
Jerry West was honored again with several awards: a call-up to the All-America selection, and being voted Southern Conference MVP.
27.
Jerry West's best performance was a game against Virginia, in which he grabbed 16 rebounds and scored 40 points.
28.
Jerry West made himself available for the 1960 NBA draft, and he was drafted with the second overall pick by the Minneapolis Lakers, shortly before the team relocated to Los Angeles.
29.
Jerry West became the first draft pick ever of the relocated franchise.
30.
Jerry West played West as a guard, in contrast to West's college days as a forward.
31.
Jerry West won Schaus's trust and, alternating with Hundley, Selvy, and Leonard, played 35 minutes per game and established himself as the Lakers' second scoring option.
32.
Jerry West helped the Lakers improve from their previous 25-win season to 36 wins as they reached the 1961 NBA Playoffs.
33.
Jerry West became known especially for hitting important late-game shots, and Lakers' announcer Chick Hearn named him "Mr Clutch" a handle which stuck with Jerry West for his entire career.
34.
The teams split the first two games, and at the end of Game 3 in Los Angeles, Jerry West tied the game at 115.
35.
Jerry West stole the ball, raced up court, and converted a running layup as the buzzer sounded.
36.
Jerry West played only 55 regular-season games, missing the last seven weeks due to a hamstring injury.
37.
Jerry West spectacularly took over Baylor's leading role, as he scored 49 points and willed the shocked Lakers to the win.
38.
Jerry West averaged 46.3 points per game, a figure that is still an NBA record.
39.
Jerry West made an NBA record 840 free throws, and earned yet another pair of All-Star Team and All-NBA First Team nominations.
40.
Jerry West was assisted by Baylor, who was a self-estimated "75 percent" of his pre-injury self, The two long-standing rivals split the first six games, with Jerry West's usual scoring dominance countered by Celtics forward John Havlicek, whose size and speed created serious mismatch problems for the Lakers.
41.
Jerry West only had diminutive, defensively weak Johnny Egan left next to West.
42.
Jerry West was disturbed by locker room tension; used to playing on teams with good chemistry, his quality of play became erratic, and his scoring average of 25.9 points was his lowest since his rookie season.
43.
Jerry West made the Second Team of the inaugural All-Defensive Team.
44.
Chamberlain inbounded the ball to Jerry West, who raced past Walt Frazier and threw up a 60-foot shot.
45.
Jerry West had injured his right hand and taken several manual injections, and Reed hobbled up court before Game 7: the Knicks center scored the first four points, and inspired his team to one of the most famous playoff upsets of all time.
46.
Jerry West was named All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defense First Teamer and voted 1972 All-Star Game MVP.
47.
Jerry West conceded that he had played a terrible series and credited the team for the success.
48.
Jerry West took on the role of team captain for the first time after deferring to Chamberlain in 1972.
49.
However, in his last season Jerry West only played 14 minutes in the playoffs, due to rumored contractual frustration with Jack Kent Cooke and groin injuries.
50.
Jerry West helped to build the great 1980s Lakers dynasty, known as Showtime, which brought five championship rings to Los Angeles.
51.
In 1995, Jerry West received his first Executive of the Year Award for his role in turning the Lakers around.
52.
Jerry West continued to propel the Lakers to championship contender status by trading Divac for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant, by signing free agent center Shaquille O'Neal, and by signing six-time NBA champion Phil Jackson as a coach.
53.
Jerry West had laid down the foundation of the Lakers' three-peat as they defended their NBA championship in 2001 and 2002.
54.
In 2002, Jerry West became the general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies.
55.
Jerry West himself won his second NBA Executive of the Year Award in the same year.
56.
In 2007, Jerry West retired as a Grizzlies general manager and turned over managing duties to Chris Wallace.
57.
On May 19,2011, Jerry West joined the Golden State Warriors as an executive board member, reporting directly to new owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber.
58.
In 2015, the Warriors won their first championship in 40 years; the championship was the seventh earned by Jerry West while serving as a team executive.
59.
On June 1,2017, Jerry West publicly stated that he would have been interested in returning to the Lakers, but nothing materialized as they hired Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka to run the team.
60.
Clippers coach, Doc Rivers, floated the idea of Jerry West joining the organization during the 2016 season.
61.
Jerry West referred to leaving Golden State as "one of the saddest days of his life", but was excited to find a new challenge.
62.
Jerry West was an all-around combo guard who could take the playmaking roles of a point guard and score like a shooting guard, while being equally strong on offense and defense.
63.
Jerry West had a jump shot with a release the NBA lauded as "lightning quick", and was known for making baskets late in the game, earning him the nickname "Mr Clutch".
64.
Jerry West was described as one of the best ballhawks, man-to-man defenders and shot blockers among NBA guards: when the All-Defensive Teams were introduced in 1969, he made every one of them until his career ended in 1974.
65.
Jerry West led the Lakers in scoring in seven seasons, and is the league leader in career scoring in the NBA Finals.
66.
In 1979, Jerry West was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Lakers retired his No 44 jersey in 1983.
67.
Jerry West was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 1960 US Olympic team in 2010 and as a contributor in 2024; his induction as a contributor honors his tenure as a general manager and consultant.
68.
Jerry West was the first person to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and a contributor.
69.
The NBA logo, which was designed in 1969, incorporates a silhouette based on a photograph of Jerry West, according to its designer Alan Siegel.
70.
Jerry West built the 1980s Lakers dynasty under coach Pat Riley and players Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy and the 2000s under coach Phil Jackson and players Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
71.
Jerry West was a member of Golden State's front office when the Warriors won titles in 2015 and 2017.
72.
On February 17,2011, a statue of Jerry West was unveiled outside Staples Center at the Star Plaza in Los Angeles, California.
73.
On September 5,2019, Jerry West received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump in recognition of his contributions to the sport.
74.
Jerry West married his college sweetheart Martha Jane Kane in April 1960 in Morgantown; they divorced in 1976.
75.
Jerry West married his second wife, Kristine "Karen" Bua, in 1978.
76.
Jerry West was often described as an introverted and nervous character, but he drew the highest praise for his uncompromising work ethic.
77.
Jerry West spoke with a high-pitched voice that became even shriller when he became excited so that Lakers captain Elgin Baylor dubbed West "Tweety Bird".
78.
Jerry West was regarded for his extreme mental toughness and his exemplary work ethic.
79.
Jerry West would sit by himself and stare into space.
80.
Jerry West was portrayed in the 2022 HBO docudrama series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty as a temperamental, foul-mouthed executive, prone to angry outbursts and mood swings.
81.
Jerry West died in Los Angeles on June 12,2024, at the age of 86.