The legendary Jerry West, the Los Angeles Lakers legend who inspired the NBA logo, has died

A piece of news generated a stir in the sport. NBA legend Jerry West, who inspired the image that later became the league’s iconic logo, has died at age 86..

With the passage of time, the figure of the man who only wore the Los Angeles Lakers (1960-1974) became something much more important than that of a former player who fought against a wonderful period of the Boston Celtics and was only able to consecrate himself on one occasion as NBA champion (1972), but he won the gold medal in the Rome Olympic Games 1960 with the United States national team.

Elected 14 times for the All Star Gamemember of the NBA Hall of Fame and winner of the award Most valuable Player (MVP) in the ’69 finals despite losing the series, West built an image off the field and brought all his sports knowledge to build winning teams in managerial roles both in Los Angeles Lakers like in Golden State Warriors.

In the leadership position, West was key to the arrival of Kobe Bryant to the Los Angeles franchise in 1996 and also managed to sign the center Shquille O’Neal to lead the Lakers Phil Jackson to the ring in 2000. Previously, he had already won five other titles as an executive in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988 alongside legends such as magic Johnson and Kareem-Abdul Jabbar. Then, she did his work next to Stephen Curry on the Warriors in 2015 and 2017.

Jerry West with Kobe Bryant during the Los Angeles Lakers’ championship title in 2000. Two NBA legends, one in a manager’s role and the other as a player (AP/Kevork Djansezian)

During his time as a player, West He came to the NBA after a successful time at West Virginia University, where he was the MVP of the NCAA Finals and was chosen in the first round of the draft by the Lakers in 1960. He played as a point guard or shooting guard on the Californian team. until 1974 and ended his professional career with 25,192 points in 932 official matchesclosing with an average of 27 points per game and occupying 25th place in the historical table of top scorers.

Since 2017 he worked on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Clippers, a franchise that announced the idol’s departure on its social networks: “Jerry West, the personification of basketball excellence and friend to all who knew him, passed away peacefully this morning at the age of 86. His wife, Karen, was by his side.”

Source: Infoabae

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