Few have contributed more to the NBA than Jerry West. The Los Angeles Lakers legend helped raise the bar and create a new mold of player during his on-court career, built dynasties as an executive, and spoke positively about the generations that followed him.
As the Lakers prepare for the 2024-25 season, the West Virginia Mountaineers have provided the perfect way to honor West's legacy after his passing in June of 2024.
West played at West Virginia between 1957 and 1960 before the Lakers selected him at No. 2 overall in the 1960 NBA Draft. He played all 14 of his professional seasons in Los Angeles, and later spent three seasons as the head coach and 21 years as an executive with the franchise.
In a post on X, West Virginia University's football team revealed that they will be wearing a decal with West's name and jersey number to honor the legendary Mountaineer.
It's our honor to wear 4⃣4⃣ pic.twitter.com/Bk5r37T0T6
— West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) August 31, 2024
It's a wonderful gesture by West Virginia that the Lakers should strive to emulate with a similar type of patch on their jersey in 2024-25.
Lakers should follow WVU, include Jerry West patch on jersey
Over the course of his 14 seasons as a player with the Lakers, West earned 12 All-NBA selections and 14 All-Star Game appearances. He earned five All-Defense nods, as well, which is even more impressive when one considers the honor wasn't introduced until his eighth year in the Association.
West also led the NBA in scoring in 1969-70 at 31.2 points per game and was No. 1 in the Association at 9.7 assists per game in 1971-72.
1971-72 also marked the eight season in which West finished in the top five in MVP voting. More importantly. it was the year during which he ended the drought and delivered a highly-anticipated championship.
In his eighth of nine NBA Finals appearances, West averaged 19.8 points and 8.8 assists per game to help the Lakers win their first championship in 18 years.
Throw in the fact that West won the first-ever Finals MVP award in 1969, when he averaged 37.9 points and 7.4 assists per game, and there are few who have done more for the Lakers. The fact that he retired and then led Los Angeles to the 1977 Western Conference Finals as head coach is the icing on the cake.
The feat that makes it all but inexcusable not to honor him, however, is the fact that he delivered another six championships to the Lakers as an executive.
West constructed the Showtime Lakers, orchestrating moves that would change the entire landscape of the NBA. He then pulled the strings to team Kobe Bryant with Shaquille O'Neal, thus resulting in the most recent three-peat in Association history.
With seven championships, 12 All-NBA seasons, and an unrivaled level of contributions to the organization, the Lakers must do for West what West Virginia already has.