But I could've, and I knew I could've. In the 1965 playoffs, West averaged 40.6 ppg over 11 contests; his 46.3 ppg average against Baltimore in the division finals was a record for a six-game series. With Chamberlain now in the middle and Gail Goodrich pitching in on offense, the Lakers won a record 33 games in a row under new coach (and former Celtics star) Bill Sharman. Led by Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, and John Havlicek, the Celtics would win eleven NBA . Damian Lillard became the 4th player in NBA history with 200 points and 60 assists in a playoff series, joining LeBron James, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson. Frazier later commented: "The man's crazy. Teams. This also marked the first of three straight seasons leading the NBA in assists, with Robertson putting up at least 11.0 assists per game each year, including a career-high 11.5 in 1964-1965. On the flipside, West was selected more frequently for All-Star (14x to 12x), All-NBA (12x to 11x), and All-Defensive (5x to none) Teams, though Robertson does have the one MVP to his name. [87][88], West is portrayed in the 2022 HBO docudrama series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty as a temperamental, foul-mouthed executive prone to angry outbursts and mood swings. In three campaigns with West at the helm, the Lakers went 145-101 and returned to the playoffs after missing the postseason during Wests retirement. In 1980, West was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and named to the NBA 35th Anniversary Team. West continued to propel the Lakers to championship contender status by trading Divac for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant (1996), by signing free agent center Shaquille O'Neal (also 1996), and by signing six-time NBA champion Phil Jackson as a coach (1999). Oscar Robertson. And also, West can still feel the sensation of receiving his gold medal. Tackling the Biggest Head-to-Head Sports Debates. [48] West himself contributed with 25.8points and led the league with a career-high 9.7assists per game. He earned the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player honor despite the loss. O as in the Only player to average a triple-double for a whole season. As a player with the Cincinnati (Ohio) Royals of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1961-62, he averaged . The tragedy turned young Jerry inward, forcing him to develop his own coping mechanisms. [26] In overtime, Jones scored several clutch baskets to ensure a 110107 win for the Celtics. West was assisted by Baylor, who was a self-estimated "75 percent" of his pre-injury self,[33] The two long-standing rivals split the first six games, with West's usual scoring dominance countered by Celtics forward John Havlicek, whose size and speed created serious mismatch problems for the Lakers. [61] At age 69, West retired as a Grizzlies general manager in 2007 and turned over managing duties to Chris Wallace.[64]. "We stayed in dorms. Ten of the players would go on to play in the NBA. But his all-around excellence was unprecedented for a guard. He explained his decision with the desire for exploring something new: "After being a part of the Laker's success for so many years, I have always wondered how it would be to build a winning franchise that has not experienced much success. "[8] West incredibly connected, and this basket was later called one of the greatest moments ever by the NBA. During their overlapping careers, Robertson and West faced off head-to-head on 94 occasions. [16] The Mountaineers went 262 that year, ending the season with a loss to Manhattan College in postseason tournament play. "Not a day goes by when I don't think about that Olympic experience.". "Fans believe what people tell them.". "[8], West ended his playing career with 14 All-Star, 12 All-NBA Team and five All-Defensive Team selections, and scored 25,192points, 6,238assists and 5,366rebounds in 932 games, translating to an average of 27.0points, 6.7assists and 5.8rebounds per game. He was the third player in league history to reach 25,000 points (after Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson). The best players may not be the players people think are the best. RT @LakersLead: Blake Griffin, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry West are the only other rookies to have a 30/15/10 game . [50] After winning Game 4 due to a superb outing from Wilt Chamberlain, West scored 23 points and dished out 9 assists in Game 5, helping the Lakers to win the game and the NBA championship. This worldview of modern basketball wouldnt have spread if it wasnt a generational thing. A smallish youth, West didnt make his junior high football, baseball or track teams. [8] He led the Lakers in scoring in seven seasons,[20] and only Jordan had a higher career scoring average in the playoffs (33.5 versus 29.1). Isiah Thomas potentially snubs Michael Jordan as he labeles The Flash as the best Chicago athlete. Advertisement. For most of the game, the Lakers trailed, but West and Frank Selvy hit several clutch baskets and tied the game at 100. Combine a deadly jump shot, tenacious defense, obsessive perfectionism, unabashed confidence, and an uncompromising will to win, and youve got Jerry West, one of the greatest guards in NBA history. West's mid-range jump shot became his trademark and he often used it to score while under pressure from opposing defenses. And it was a mission that we had to beat the Russian team. The Americans arrived in Italy in 1960 with 28 wins in as many games at the Olympics. @Sen_JoeManchin, "Jerry West demands retraction of his 'cruel' portrayal in 'Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerry_West&oldid=1141917828, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 15:05. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Moreover, before Johnson entered the NBA, West and Oscar "The Big O" Robertson were considered the greatest guards in league history, not to mention that West was the one who received more respect and love. In the 1969 Finals against Boston, West became the only member of a losing team to be named Finals MVP. His 28.7 points per game eclipsed the 25.4 by Baylor, who stated that he suffered from knee problems. The teams split the first two games, and at the end of Game 3 in Los Angeles, West tied the game at 115. The USA had a team to envy. [53][54], The 197374 NBA season was to be West's last as a player. Prior to the 1971-72 season, the 33-year-old West was considering retirement. As a 6-foot senior, West became the first prep player in state history to score 900 points in a season, averaging 32.2 points. Both Robertson and West were standout high school basketball players (in fact, both were named the best player in their respective home states) before going on to dominate the college ranks; drafted 1-2 in 1960, the duo would also quickly make their marks in the NBA. ". West is undoubtedly one of the all-time greats, but he has one blemish: his NBA Finals record. [8], West attended East Bank High School in East Bank, West Virginia from 1952 to 1956. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. West lost the first eight times he played in the Finals, twice by a single basket against the Boston Celtics in Game 7s. Boston won in overtime, 110-107. Oscar Robertson. Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas and Dave Cowens honored at halftime of NBA All-Star Game. Paolo Banchero leads the way as the Kia Rookie of the Year chase begins to head for the finish line. Although both ranked among the top four leading scorers in history when they retired, neither man ever won an MVP. MIES (Switzerland) - It happened more than half a century ago, yet for two of the biggest legends in the sport, USA's Jerry West and Oscar Robertson, memories of the gold-medal winning run at the Olympic Games in Rome are crystal clear. He was the son of a coal mine electrician who could afford no luxuries and who was usually too drained from work to play with his children. [83] Apart from being shy, West was always restless: Schaus described him as a "bundle of nerves", Celtics contemporary Bob Cousy as "always on the move", and fellow Laker and Mountaineer Rod Hundley testified that during bar visits, West would quickly squirm and demand to go elsewhere before everybody else had settled. Playing the guard position, he was voted 12 times into the All-NBA First and Second Teams, was elected into the NBA All-Star Team 14 times, and was chosen as the All-Star MVP in 1972, the same year that he won the only title of his career. His mother lashed him when he showed up hours late for dinner and he became so thin that he had to receive vitamin injections.But the practice paid off. However, it became clearer later that NBA media got lazy, complacent and became more of a sales force for the league itself. Moreover, during that final year, he had 30 double-doubles and fifteen 30-point games. [22], Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke was known for a keen eye identifying leadership and teaching qualities (he also gave Hall of Famers Sparky Anderson and Joe Gibbs their first managerial/head coaching positions),[57] and asked West to coach and participate in player personnel decisions. He looks determined. After the Lakers heartbreaking loss to the Boston Celtics in the 1969 NBA Finals, John Havlicek walked up to West and said, Jerry, I love you. Such comments were not uncommon. The Minneapolis Lakers chose West with the second overall pick . Basketball, Team, School. the Lakers held a "Jerry West Night", and eleven-time NBA champion and perennial rival Bill Russell appeared and said: "Jerry, you are, in every sense of the word, truly a . Once there, the Lakers lost Game 1 to the Knicks, but then won four straight by relatively large margins. He died aged 67. Amulya Shekhar is a sports junkie who thrives on the thrills and frills of live sports action across basketball, football (the American variant works too), parkour, adventure sports. I think West is the smoother player and the stronger defensively. [40] A limping West scored 26 points in Game 6, but the Celtics won 9990 with a strong Bill Russell, who held Chamberlain to only eight points in the entire game. [81] They have two sons, Ryan and Jonnie. pic.twitter.com/VAlcLcmqXX, Hoop History (@H00PHISTORY) March 10, 2022. CLEVELAND The NBA celebrated its diamond anniversary with a sparkling tribute to honor 75 years on the hardwood floor. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Oscar Robertson. /VCG. (Going into the 1963-64 season, Baylor was 28, West 25, Robertson 24, Lucas 23.) MIES (Switzerland) - It happened more than half a century ago, yet for two of the biggest legends in the sport, USA's Jerry West and Oscar Robertson, memories of the gold-medal winning run at theOlympic Games in Rome are crystal clear. Everybody wants to see LeBron [James] and Kobe [Bryant] in the Finals, but it would come down to whoever makes the most open shots, the Lakers or Cavaliers, because anybody who plays with either one of them is going to get a lot of open shots.". Theres a reason the leagues logo is the Los Angeles Lakers legends silhouette. [22], Initially, West felt odd in his new environment. Fittingly, Thomas remembered the Big O agreeing with Wests assessment. CLEVELAND - "Mr. When it snowed West played wearing gloves. [8] Having played forward early in his career, West was also a capable rebounder, and gifted with long arms, quick hands, and strong defensive instincts, West was also once described as one of the best ballhawks, man-to-man defenders and shot blockers among NBA guards:[23] when the All-Defensive Teams were introduced in 1969, West made every one of them until his career ended in 1974. He thinks it's going in! [40], In the 196970 NBA season under new coach Joe Mullaney, the Lakers' season began with a shock when Wilt Chamberlain seriously injured his knee and missed practically the whole regular season. Basketball had not yet sacrificed fundamentals for potential. He was named All-State from 1953 to 1956, then All-American in 1956 when he was West Virginia Player of the Year, becoming the state's first high-school player to score more than 900 points in a season, with an average of 32.2 points per game. 1 overall pick in the 1960 NBA Draft, with the Lakers selecting West immediately thereafter. He is a. man for the ages." Jerry West. St. Joseph's Joe Spratt: "I give a somewhat hesitant edge to Jerry West over Oscar Robertson. After this loss, West retired due to contract disagreements with Cooke, and filed a suit for unpaid back wages. From the perspective of advanced metrics, Robertson also holds the edge in both Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and Wins-Shares. [15] The Lakers had a disappointing season, winning only 36 games and getting swept by the San Francisco Warriors in the first round of the 1967 NBA Playoffs. But West committed costly turnovers and L.A. lost the game 108106 despite a triple-double of 42 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists from West, who became the only recipient of the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award from the losing team. Its only fitting he returned the favor. A loss just ripped his guts out., Its no wonder. [36] In Game 5, an injured West scored 35points, but Boston won by threepoints. Oscar Robertson vs Jo Jo White. black vs. white, East vs. West, etc. "There are a lot of bad teams," he said. First up is Oscar Robertson's 1961 Fleer rookie card which is one of the keys to the iconic set and one of the most valuable basketball cards in general.. This includes rookie cards for Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor and Len Wilkens (misspelled Wilkins). Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and Hal Greer, the Boston Celtics became the most dominating team in the league. 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