Former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Jerry West will be elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame for a record third time. West, 85, has been previously inducted as a player in 1979 and as a member of the 1960 Olympic US Team in 2010.
This time, the Logo will be honored for his work in the front office. Jerry West worked as a general manager for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies, and he also worked as a consultant in separate stints with the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers.
There are five ways for a person to be enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame: as a player, coach, team member, referee, or contributor. Jerry West has now checked three of the five boxes because he was elected as a contributor this time.
Jerry West is not the only NBA icon elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame since Chauncey Billups and Vince Carter were also announced in this year’s class, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Jerry West, a certified Los Angeles Lakers legend
Before there was Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and LeBron James, Jerry West was the Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar in the ’60s to ’70s.
Jerry West played all his 14 NBA seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and was an NBA All-Star each year. Throughout his stay, West racked up so many accolades, such as being a one-time NBA champion (1972), one-time Finals MVP (1969), one-time All-Star Game MVP (1972), 10-time All-NBA First Team member (1962-1967, 1970-1973), and four-time NBA All-Defensive First member (1970-1973).
The West Virginia product had a smooth jump shot and an uncompromising will to win. He was nicknamed “Mr. Clutch” for his ability to hit the big shot during crunch time, such as his 60-foot halfcourt bomb that tied Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.
After he stopped playing, Jerry West became the head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1976 to 1979, leading the team to a 145-101 record and having three consecutive playoff appearances.
As the Los Angeles Lakers general manager, Jerry West was responsible for forming the dynamic one-two punch of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, leading to a three-peat from 2000 to 2002.
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