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The greatest Los Angeles Lakers leaders in franchise history

By ANTHONY BISCIELLO

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 06: Los Angeles Lakers legends Ervin Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shake hands with Jerry West as he speaks at the ceremony for the unveiling of a bronze statue for Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor at Staples Center on April 6, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 06: Los Angeles Lakers legends Ervin Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shake hands with Jerry West as he speaks at the ceremony for the unveiling of a bronze statue for Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor at Staples Center on April 6, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
(Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /

Jerry West

Is there anyone who really doesn’t know who Jerry is? Other than being an amazing front office genius, as well as the NBA logo, he was by far one of the greatest players in NBA history.

Standing at six foot two inches, West was drafted by the Lakers in 1960-61 from West Virginia. That being said, it would be a few years until the torch would be passed to him from the great Elgin Baylor as the Lakers were Baylor’s team at the time. However, it doesn’t quite hurt to have two dynamic players, now does it?

Jerry West was a total package type of player. An extremely cerebral type of player that could see the whole court. A great shooter and passer, West was a multi-talented threat who played hard and was always hustling. In his rookie season, he averaged 17.6 points per game, 7.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists.

The Lakers were still building. One of the most important pieces that the team was missing was a legit head coach. In 1960-61, other than drafting West and moving the franchise to Los Angeles, the team hired head coach Fred Schaus. There was no doubt that the team was moving in the right direction and now in West, the team had a second in command.

In 1961-62, the Lakers would get back to the NBA Finals, only to once again lose to the Boston Celtics. Jerry West’s numbers jumped up high as he averaged 30.8 points per game,(Which was second to Baylor.) 7.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists. The torch would not be passed until 1963-64 as West now led the team in scoring averaging 28.7 points per game. He would go on to average over 30 points per game in 4 out of his 14 seasons.

In the playoffs of1964-65, West would average 40.6 points per game. There was no player that was as clutch as Jerry West. A player such as he would have absolutely dominated the NBA had he been able to play in this current league. It would not be until 1972 that the Lakers would win another title.

There is no doubt that Jerry West was the leader of that team and his supporting cast was phenomenal as they had players like Elgin Baylor of course, Gail Goodrich, Wilt Chamberlain, Happy Hairston, and Jim McMillian.

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