A true NBA legend died today.
Jerry West, a.k.a. The Logo, died on Wednesday morning, per reports. His wife, Karen, is said to have been "by his side" as he "peacefully" passed away.
"Jerry West, the personification of basketball excellence and a friend to all who knew him, passed away peacefully this morning at the age of 86. His wife, Karen, was by his side," the LA Clippers, a team for which West had done consulting in recent years, said in a statement on Wednesday morning.
West’s decades-spanning legacy is tied directly to key eras for the Los Angeles Lakers. He not only played for the team himself as a guard, with the stats from that period showing his undeniable strengths in action, he also put in time as the team’s coach, scout, and later, its general manager. The latter role was how West spent the bulk of the Lakers' still-revered Showtime era, the earlier years of which inspired HBO's recent Winning Time series. Like others depicted on the show, West had spoken out publicly against it, at one point saying he would consider legal action.
Also known as Mr. Clutch, West and his career continued to evolve, even beyond the Lakers organization. In the early 2000s, he took on the GM role for the Memphis Grizzlies, where he stayed for several years before becoming a Golden State Warriors exec.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inducted West as a player in 1980, saying "it would be hard to find a better pure shooter" from across the NBA, then inducted him again in 2010, this time as a member of the Pete Newell-helmed 1960 Olympic basketball team. Meanwhile, his silhouette has long been pointed to as the inspiration behind the league’s ubiquitous logo.
Shortly after news of the death broke, NBA commissioner Adam Silver shared a statement calling West "a basketball genius" whose brilliance could be seen both on, and off, the court.
"I valued my friendship with Jerry and the knowledge he shared with me over many years about basketball and life," Silver said. "On behalf of the NBA, we send our deepest condolences to Jerry’s wife, Karen, his family and his many friends in the NBA community."
LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and more were quick to share tribute messages on Wednesday. Jordan, specifically, was effusive in his praise of West, whom he viewed as a like-minded player.
"I always wished I could have played against him as a competitor, but the more I came to know him, I wish I had been his teammate," Jordan said in a text to Stephen A. Smith, as read on the air.
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RIP.
