Mourning in basketball: Jerry West, sports legend who inspired the silhouette of the NBA, has died

Rarely can you boast of being an important part of the history of a sport to the point of becoming one of the most iconic logos in the world. Jerry West, basketball legend, could say that his silhouette was used to represent the best basketball in the world.

Today, Tuesday, June 12, the Los Angeles Clippers, the team for which he worked as an executive, confirmed his death at the age of 86. West, although he only won one championship in the NBA, became a sports legend.

His silhouette is today the logo of the most famous basketball league in the world, which gave him the nickname “the logo.”

His career in the NBA

West played 14 seasons between 1960 and 1974 with the Lakers and became an idol of the franchise. In addition, he was chosen 14 times to play in the All-Star, NBA all-star game. Throughout his career he averaged 27 points and was the only Finals MVP who did not win the ring in that edition (1969).

After playing basketball he decided to watch it from the offices. West was responsible and part of the executives who put together the Lakers of the 80s with Magic Johnson and Abdul-jabbar, the remembered “showtime” that won 5 NBA rings (1980,1982,1985,1987,1988).

With the Lakers, as an executive he also helped foresee the strategy for the following years in which they had Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal as figures.

The legendary basketball player and executive entered the hall of fame in 1980, 2010 and in April of this year. At the 1960 Rome Olympics, he was co-captain of the team that won gold with the United States. His last role as an executive was with the Los Angeles Clippers.

The surroundings of the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles now have a statue of the legend and the Lakers retired number 44 in his honor.