Jerry West, NBA legend, dies at age 86
NBA legend Jerry West, whose prolific playing career landed him on the league's logo and basketball savvy led to multiple championships, has died, the Los Angeles Clippers said in a statement Wednesday.
He was 86.
"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," according to a statement by the Clippers. "His wife, Karen, was by his side."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver called West a "basketball genius" and "defining" figure in the league.
"I valued my friendship with Jerry and the knowledge he shared with me over many years about basketball and life," Silver said in a statement. "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."
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member was an all-American at the University of West Virginia before playing 14 seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Despite the fact West's career came in an era with a much shorter playoff schedule, his name is still all over NBA postseason record books: 4,457 points (ninth most) 1,622 baskets made (ninth) and 1,213 free throws made (seventh) just to name a few.
In regular season play, West made 7,160 free throws, the ninth most.
West led the Lakers to nine appearances in the NBA finals, capturing the title once, in 1972.
He spent nearly two decades in the Lakers front office, serving as general manager and helping assemble the famed "Showtime" teams that captured multiple NBA titles.
"Jerry's four decades with the Lakers also included a successful stint as a head coach and a remarkable run in the front office that cemented his reputation as one of the greatest executives in sports history," Silver said. "He helped build eight championship teams during his tenure in the NBA — a legacy of achievement that mirrors his on-court excellence."
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West's impact on pro basketball can be seen every time an official league statement appears on NBA letterhead or someone slips on a piece of NBA merchandise.
The red-white-and-blue logo, designed in 1969 by branding guru Alan Siegel, remains as one of the most enduring images in North American sports.
Siegel's friend and noted sports journalist Dick Schaap handed him a file of NBA pictures and an image of West — dribbling with his left hand and driving to the hoop — jumped out at him.
"I always admired him, but I liked the picture because it was a nice vertical and had this motion to it," Siegel told NBA.com in 2021. "I was a fan of his and he was one of those people who had an important history in the NBA."
At the time, Siegel didn't reveal that West the inspiration for that famous silhouette but it was obvious to many fans.
"In designing the logo, I never mentioned it was based on a picture of him," he said. "It was just discovered years later."
In recent years, West had become an advocate for mental health, openly speaking about his battles with depression that traced back to childhood with an abusive father in poor, rural West Virginia.
"My goodness, I've lived like a lot of people, some really dark moments in my life," West told "The Rich Eisen Show" in 2022.
"I don't know what sets it off, but going back to some of the things I saw as a kid that were not conducive for loving nurturing families. It was really difficult for me."
West took great umbrage to the HBO series "Winning Time," which cast him as an out-of-control executive prone to fits of rage.
While HBO did not apologize to West, the network said "Winning Time" should be viewed more as a dramatization and less as a documentary.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.