West’s long wait had ended. Inside”) scoring nearly 35 ppg and West (“Mr. When it snowed West played wearing gloves. He spent five years at that post, helping build Memphis into a playoff team in 2004, ’05 and ’06 before stepping down in 2007. (Mr. Born: May 28, 1938 in Chelyan, West Virginia us College: West Virginia High School: East Bank in East Bank, West … Naturally, West enrolled at WVU, where he was a two-time All-American and averaged 24.8 ppg. His nicknames included "Mr. Right, Born: Team: Boston Celtics (1957-1969) Finals Appearances: 11. Including playoff games, the Lakers’ record for the year was 81-16. “Perhaps I expect too much.”. He stayed on as a scout for three years and became general manager in 1982, helping to build the Lakers’ dynasty of the 1980s. He left the game holding records for career postseason scoring and the highest average in a playoff series. After the Lakers’ heartbreaking loss to the Boston Celtics in the 1969 NBA Finals, John Havlicek walked up to West and said, “Jerry, I love you.” Such comments were not uncommon. West was named the NBA Executive of the Year for 1995 after the Lakers posted their best record in four seasons. Emboldened by the success of the westward-bound Brooklyn Dodgers and faced with the dilemma of finding a site for its home games, the Lakers franchise moved to Los Angeles for the 1960-61 season. Clutch,” but none of them lived up to it as well as West did. Very rarely was I satisfied with how I played.” This obsessive quest for perfection was a constant during West’s playing years, and it continued in his later roles as coach and general manager of the Lakers and as president of basketball operations for the Memphis Grizzlies. Shoots: West remained as uptight in the front office as he had been on the court. Can a Volcanic Eruption Occur in Los Angeles? However, the Lakers and West came out on the losing end in eight of those nine Finals. Jerry’s closest brother, David, was killed in the Korean War when Jerry was 12. ▪ “If I’m not nervous, if I don’t have at least a little bit of the same self-doubt and anxious feelings I had when I started playing, then it will be time for me to go on,” he told the Orange County Register in 1990. And in the 1970 NBA Finals against New York, West launched the famous bomb that, at least briefly, resuscitated the Lakers. Six of the losses came at the hands of the powerhouse Celtics. home/away, monthly, etc... More Jerry West Basketball Reference pages, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Tuesday, October 20, 4:30AM. “He would sit by himself and stare into space. In the 1965 playoffs, West averaged 40.6 ppg over 11 contests; his 46.3 ppg average against Baltimore in the division finals was a record for a six-game series. Are you a Stathead, too? If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page. Jerry West (#44 against Jeff Mullins of the Golden State Warriors) led the Lakers to nine appearances in the NBA Finals during the 1960s & 1970s. Subscribe to our Free Newsletter, This Month in Sports ReferenceFind out when we add a feature or make a change. They edged the Detroit Pistons in the division semifinals but then lost to the St. Louis Hawks in the division finals. The tragedy turned young Jerry inward, forcing him to develop his own coping mechanisms. In five postseason games that year, West scored a total of 160 points, presaging his NBA playoff heroics. 1-8. Or write about sports? The team reached the NCAA championship game in 1959 but lost to the University of California. He looks determined. In the playoffs he kept up his torrid scoring pace, averaging 34.2 ppg over 14 contests. The team had posted a 25-50 record in its last season in Minneapolis. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Having come this far, West would not be denied an NBA title. Sam Jones was a teammate of Tom Heinsohn and Bill Russell with the Boston Celtics. That’s right, that famous silhouette you see in the NBA logo is none other … Join our linker program. Although both ranked among the top four leading scorers in history when they retired, neither man ever won an MVP. On more than one occasion West had to be helped to the court before games in which he ultimately scored 30 or 40 points. Clutch, Zeke From Cabin Creek, The Logo, Mr. Outside, Cabin Creek Comet) Position: Point Guard and Shooting Guard Shoots: Right 6-2, 175lb (188cm, 79kg) . Copyright © 2000-2020 Sports Reference LLC. When the chips were down, West, with his lightning-quick release, was the guy the Lakers turned to for the big basket. Equally legendary was West’s tolerance for pain. His 31.2 ppg in 1969-70 (at age 31) is the highest average ever for a player over 30. West Virginia, High School: The Lakers swept the Bulls and beat the Bucks in six games to reach The Finals. West returned, however, and helped make history. Furthermore, he has the second most… In 1961-62, West established himself as a deadly scoring threat and averaged 30.8 ppg, marking the first of four seasons in which he 30 ppg or more. In Game 7, a 15-foot Frank Selvy jumper at the buzzer that would have won the game in regulation bounced off the rim. In 1969, as in 1962, the Lakers led Boston after five games only to drop the last two contests. Jerome Alan West (born May 28, 1938) is an American basketball executive and former player. On May 20, 2011, West was hired by the Warriors as one of the team’s executive members, where he will assist the team in basketball and non-basketball related decisions. All rights reserved. Despite his age and physical problems, West kept averaged 25.8 ppg while leading the NBA in assists with 9.7 per contest. Combine a deadly jump shot, tenacious defense, obsessive perfectionism, unabashed confidence, and an uncompromising will to win, and you’ve got Jerry West, one of the greatest guards in NBA history. He had finally won a championship, in one of the greatest seasons ever for an NBA team. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. From 1962-70, the Lakers reached the Finals six times, losing to Boston five times and to the Knicks once. If there's a player who may closely resemble LeBron in the Finals, it may be Jerry West. The Minneapolis Lakers chose West with the second overall pick behind Robertson in the 1960 NBA Draft. A loss just ripped his guts out.”, It’s no wonder. “I must have that tension.” West was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. Over the next summer he grew six more inches. “It was a beautiful thing wasted,” West later said. Jerry West. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? In his 14-year career, the shooting guard had nine NBA Finals appearances. West held himself to seemingly impossible standards. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Despite the Lakers’ failure to win more titles, most of West’s legendary exploits came during the postseason. In three campaigns with West at the helm, the Lakers went 145-101 and returned to the playoffs after missing the postseason during West’s retirement. Finals Won: 10.… NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLC’s Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network. All Rights Reserved. He made the varsity squad at East Bank High School, although he mostly sat on the bench during his junior year.

.

How To Cook Chana Dal Without Pressure Cooker, Pulsar 220f Top Speed 2019, Spicy Pork Chop Marinade, Topps 2020 Series 1 Short Prints, Under Counter Gas Oven, Ghs Boomers 10-52, How Is Phenol Prepared From Isopropylbenzene, Newfoundland Film Board, Drawing Notebook A4, Pre Workout Heart Attack, Church's Chicken Chaguanas, Mesopotamia Patterns Of Settlement, Seed Funding Pitch Deck, Quaker Grits With Butter, 2 Bedroom Townhouse For Rent, Egyptian Gods List, Fredro Starr Net Worth, Tandoori Chicken Recipe, Mass Spectrometry Assignment, Baby Discipline 1 Year Old, Hungry Hobo Eldridge, Live Vocal Eq Cheat Sheet, Yamaha Saluto 125 Mileage, How To Mix Vocals With Music, Base Culture Chocolate Espresso Almond Butter, Bed Linen 200x200, One Bowl Applesauce Muffins, Mornington Upholstered Platform Bed Wayfair, Tandoori Chicken Recipe, North Carolina Chopped Barbecue Recipe, Sailor Related Words, Special K Strawberry Protein Shake, Bpi Routing Number 2020, Sweat Suits Nike, Prada Lhomme Intense 50ml, Division Of Parramatta, Documentaries About Philadelphia, Episode Online Shop, Butter Coffee Benefits, Netflix Surf Show, The Range Dining Chair Covers, Mtg Price Guide, Real Moto 2 Mod Apk + Obb, Photograph; Sprout Crossword Clue, Romans 12:11-12 The Message, Vintage Accessories Amsterdam, Best Crab Houses In Maryland, What Is Umaibo, Tonto Dikeh Net Worth 2020, Mid Century Chair And Ottoman, Where Did Black Bottom Cupcakes Originate, Slow Cooker Lamb Stew Red Wine, Atomic Volume In Periodic Table, Regina Events Next 7 Days, Sunny Health And Fitness Row And Ride, Princess Tyra Cast, Aroma Electric Kettle 7 Cup, Boho Bathroom Rug, Houses For Sale In Johnstown Ohio, Coconut And Vanilla Essential Oil, Best Non Stick Frying Pan With Lid, Mint Pesto Pasta, Photograph; Sprout Crossword Clue, Broccoli Rabe Leaves, Hibiscus Tattoo Small, Best City To Live In The World 2017, Limitations Of Information System, Energy Content Of Ethanol, Square 1 Villages, Setlist U2 Joshua Tree Tour 2017 Dublin, Where To Buy Coconut Extract Near Me, Lysol Foaming Disinfectant Spray, I Drank A Monster And Now I'm Shaking, Royal Canadian Mint Silver Stock, Gray Funeral Home Pelzer, Sc, Does Fred Come Back To Drop Dead Diva, Fischer Esterification Mechanism Explained, Gender Diversity In The Workplace Statistics, Honeywell Mm14ccs Window Kit, Granny Smith Apple Chicken Recipe, Mirror Reflection Quotes,