Jerry West, Lakers legend and architect of 'Showtime' era, dies at 86

Lakers legend Jerry West was a hard man to please.

As a player, he ranked — and still ranks — as one of the best ever to play in the NBA. That’s his silhouette you see on the NBA logo that adorns every uniform and every NBA-related piece of merchandise.

As a coach, he never had a losing season and took his team to the playoffs in each of the three years he was in command.

As a general manager, in establishing the Lakers as a dynasty, he built some of the greatest teams in Lakers history, from refining the already fluid Magic Johnson-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar “Showtime” unit to engineering the sniping Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O’Neal bunch. The Lakers went to the NBA finals eight times and won four championships in his 18 seasons as a Lakers executive, and teams he’d built won two more titles after he’d retired.







https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2024-06-12/jerry-west-lakers-showtime-dead