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Jerry West

American basketball player and executive (1938-2024)

AI overview

Jerry West was an American basketball player and executive who had a legendary career spanning decades, starting as a Hall of Fame NBA player and later becoming a highly influential team executive. He matters because he shaped professional basketball both on the court as one of the game's greatest competitors and off the court as a decision-maker who built championship teams.

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Key facts

Born: ( 1938-05-28 ) May 28, 1938, Chelyan, West Virginia , U.S.
Died: June 12, 2024 (2024-06-12) (aged 86), Los Angeles, California , U.S.
Listed height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight: 175 lb (79 kg)
High school: East Bank ( East Bank, West Virginia )
College: West Virginia (1957–1960)
Nba draft: 1960 : 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Drafted by: Minneapolis Lakers

Article

Jerry Alan West (May 28, 1938 – June 12, 2024) was an American basketball player and executive. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. His nicknames included "the Logo", in reference to his silhouette being the basis for the NBA logo; "Mr. Clutch", for his ability to make a big play in a key situation such as his famous buzzer-beating 60-foot shot that tied game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks; "Mr. Outside", in reference to his perimeter play with the Lakers and "Zeke from Cabin Creek" for the creek near his birthplace of Chelyan, West Virginia.

West played college basketball for the West Virginia Mountaineers, leading them to the 1959 NCAA championship game. He earned the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player honor despite the loss in the championship. He then embarked on a 14-year career with the Lakers and was the co-captain of the 1960 U.S. Olympic gold medal team, a squad that was inducted as a unit into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.