Jerry West, the legendary basketball player and executive who is immortalized as the silhouette for the NBA’s logo, died on Wednesday morning, according to a release put out by the Los Angeles Clippers. The West Virginia native and inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame was 86 years old.
“Jerry West, the personification of basketball excellence and a friend to all who knew him, passed away peacefully this morning at the age of 86,” the Clippers said in a statement. “His wife, Karen, was by his side.”
The case can be made that no one has had a better career in the sport than West, as he was twice named a consensus All-American at West Virginia University before going on to a career in the NBA that spanned decades as a player, coach, and executive. After getting selected second overall by the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1960 NBA Draft, West put forth a playing career in which he was named a 14-time All-Star. A championship eluded him for almost the entirety of his playing career despite repeatedly coming close, but in 1972, he finally broke through and won a championship on a loaded Lakers team that defeated the New York Knicks in five games.
West, who earned the nickname “Mr. Clutch” for his ability to come up big when the moment demanded it, holds the distinction of being the only player to ever be named NBA Finals MVP on a losing team, in 1969. He earned 12 All-NBA selections over the course of his career — ten of which came on the First Team — had his number retired by the Lakers (the only franchise for which he played), and has been a member of the NBA’s 35th, 50th, and 75th anniversary teams. Additionally, he won a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games with USA Basketball.
Following his playing career, West spent three seasons as the head coach of the Lakers, accruing a 145-101 record and making the playoffs each year, before embarking on an executive career. West spent time in the front office of the Lakers, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors, and his current team, the Clippers. He won six championships as an executive with the Lakers, along with two as an executive with the Warriors. In 1995 as the general manager of the Lakers, and in 2004 as the president of the Grizzlies, West was named the league’s Executive of the Year.