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Corridor of Famer Jerry West can be honored by the Los Angeles Lakers previous to Tuesday’s regular-season opener towards the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Lakers are giving out West’s No. 44 jersey to all followers at Crypto.com Area for the sport after he died on the age of 86 on June 12.
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Lakers giving Jerry West jerseys to followers for tonight’s season opener vs the Wolves pic.twitter.com/TO4cKDY5jX
West is a Lakers icon for his work on the court docket and as common supervisor. He spent his whole 14-year taking part in profession with the franchise after being chosen with the No. 2 total choose within the 1960 NBA draft.
The Lakers made it to the NBA Finals 9 instances throughout West’s profession, however their lone title got here within the 1971-72 season, once they defeated the New York Knicks in 5 video games.
West stays the one participant in NBA historical past to be named Finals MVP in a collection that his workforce misplaced. He averaged 37.9 factors, 7.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds per contest within the seven-game collection loss to the Boston Celtics in 1969.
Solely four players have averaged extra factors per recreation in a single Finals collection than West did towards the Celtics.
After retiring as a participant, West took a yr off earlier than returning to the Lakers as a head coach. He solely spent three years within the function earlier than transitioning to a behind-the-scenes function beginning as a scout.
The Lakers finally employed West as their common supervisor previous to the 1982-83 season. He stayed within the function for 18 seasons, with two his most notable strikes coming inside weeks of one another in the summertime of 1996.
West traded Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant. He additionally acquired Shaquille O’Neal to signal with the Lakers for a seven-year, $120 million contract that on the time was the richest within the historical past of professional sports activities.
Three years later, West would put the ending touches on the beginning of Los Angeles’ dynasty by hiring Phil Jackson as head coach. The workforce went on to win three straight titles from 1999 to ’01, although the final two got here after West left the group.
West additionally had stints with the Memphis Grizzlies (2002 to ’07), Golden State Warriors (2011 to ’17) and Los Angeles Clippers (2017 to ’24).
The Lakers received eight titles throughout West’s time as an govt. He was voted NBA Government of the Yr in 1994-95 with the Lakers and 2003-04 with the Grizzlies.
West is the only three-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Corridor of Fame. He was inducted as a participant in 1980, as a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic males’s basketball workforce that was honored in 2010 and posthumously throughout this yr’s ceremony on Oct. 13 for his work as a contributor stemming largely from his govt profession.
The Lakers will tip off the 2024-25 NBA common season towards the Timberwolves at Crypto.com Area on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET.
