The family of Jerry West has expressed gratitude after the outpouring of support from around the basketball world honoring the Lakers legend. West died Wednesday at 86 years old with his wife Karen by his side, and right away, the NBA's biggest names sent out waves of love honoring his legacy.
“We are overwhelmed by the love, support, and appreciation we have received from friends, colleagues, and basketball fans around the world. Jerry took incredible pride in his life-long association with the NBA," West's family wrote in a statement Wednesday evening. "He felt fortunate to have been a player, coach, and executive during a time of explosive growth in the league."
“Above all else, Jerry cherished the close friendships and mentorships he formed with teammates, coaches and players throughout his 64-year-career. We want to thank you, basketball fans everywhere, for supporting him. You fueled his burning desire to win - he did it for you.”
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West's silhouette still serves as inspiration for the current NBA logo and the supremely talented shooting guards was one of the NBA's first bonafide superstars during a critical formative period. "The Logo" grew up in Chelyan, West Virginia, and remained in-state for college, averaging 24.8 points across three seasons at West Virginia and leading the Mountaineers to their only national championship game in school history.
The tranquility of Appalachia quickly morphed into the bright lights of Tinseltown as West was drafted No. 2 overall in 1960 to the Los Angeles Lakers. Through his second season as a professional, West had already posted one of the most remarkable statistical NBA seasons before or since, averaging better than 30 points per night while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out nearly 5.5 assists.
West went on to average 27 points per game across 14 NBA seasons, all of them with the Lakers, leading current Los Angeles star and all-time leading scorer LeBron James to offer his condolences. "Will truly miss our convos my dear friend," James tweeted about West. "My thoughts and prayers goes out to your wonderful family! Forever love Jerry! Rest in Paradise my guy!"
After retiring in 1974 and entering a brief but successful coaching career two years later, West became general manager of the Lakers in 1982 and ushered in the franchise's iconic "Showtime" era. Pat Riley coaches an uptempo, attractive brand of basketball that produced three championships in the next six seasons and featured a number of legendary players, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worth and Magic Johnson.
A portion of Johnson's lengthy commemorative Twitter post reads as follows: "Beyond his basketball accolades as a basketball player and NBA executive, Jerry West was a great man, a leader of men, fiercely loved his family and friends, and despite holding jobs with other franchises, he was a Lakers fan for life.
"Laker Nation, the only reason we have 17 NBA championships is because of Jerry West and his expertise drafting players, trading for players, and hiring the right coaches. Today is a sad day for basketball fans and sports fans across the globe."