Ranking the top 50 players in NBA history…
“[The Logo](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/06/12/jerry-west-nba-logo-history/)” had a storied 14-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1960 to 1974.
Drafted No. 2 overall out of West Virginia University, where he was a college star, West averaged 27.0 points, 6.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game in his career.
A 14-time All-Star, he earned 12 All-NBA selections (10 First Team) and five All-Defensive honors.
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Despite nine Finals appearances, West won only one championship in 1972, but he remains the only player to win Finals MVP on a losing team (1969).
Known for his clutch shooting, including a famous 60-foot buzzer-beater in the 1970 Finals, West led the league in scoring (31.2 PPG in 1970) and assists (9.7 in 1972).
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He scored 25,192 career points, retiring as the Lakers’ all-time leading scorer at the time.
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West’s intensity and fundamentals made him a prototype shooting guard for the time period, but he would have been a star in any era, including the present.
Inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1980 and as a contributor in 2010, his post-playing career was equally legendary: as Lakers GM, he built Showtime and Shaq-Kobe dynasties, winning eight rings. Later, he helped construct the Golden State Warriors’ championship teams.
He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019.
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Featured image via Darryl Norenberg/USA TODAY Sports