With Elgin Baylor (Mr. And knowing what that looked like, the Logo wanted to surpass him. He spent five years at that post, helping build Memphis into a playoff team in 2004, 05 and 06 before stepping down in 2007. . However, the Lakers and West came out on the losing end in eight of those nine Finals. Sometimes you get involved in situations like that, you don't realize the importance of it until you get out of it. [16] The Mountaineers went 262 that year, ending the season with a loss to Manhattan College in postseason tournament play. The tragedy turned young Jerry inward, forcing him to develop his own coping mechanisms. He scored 19 points in the second half, leading WVU to an upset victory. West stole the ball, raced upcourt, and converted a running layup as the buzzer sounded. "[63] West's Memphis stint was not as spectacular as his Los Angeles stint, but he turned a franchise which was about to be sold into a reliable playoffs team, making few trades but getting the maximum from the players he had available (such as Pau Gasol, James Posey and Jason Williams) and signing coach Hubie Brown, who became Coach of the Year in 2004. Oscar Robertson. [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. [37] While West himself got on well with the recruit, Chamberlain often argued with team captain Elgin Baylor and had a poor relationship with Van Breda Kolff. The teams split the first two games, and at the end of Game 3 in Los Angeles, West tied the game at 115. [12], In his final collegiate season (195960) West enjoyed several career highs, such as scoring 29.3points per game, a 134 season-assists, 16.5rebounds per game, and a shooting average of 50.4% from the field, 76.6% from the free throw line. Also Read - "A cast of characters, different personalities and Charles Barkley": Larry Bird's hilarious trash talk shone through even in his Dream Team Hall of Fame induction speech. He played West as a guard, in contrast to West's college days as a forward. "I met people from all over the world," said Robertson, who was inducted to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2009. Until he got it right, the ball would frequently hit and bruise his face. In just his second NBA season in 1961-1962, Robertson put up 41 triple-doubles and became the first player to average a triple-double over a full season with 30.8 points (on 47.8% shooting), 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists; for over 50 years, the Big O remained the only NBA player to achieve the feat until Russell Westbrook did so in 2016-2017 (and has now done so for three straight seasons thru the 2018-2019 season). Jerry West is one of the most revered players in NBA history. Wilt Chamberlain definitely had an explanation for why fans from his time fell out of love with NBA basketball. . This meant that points and rebounds would be the only stats any player couldve chased. All of these rookies except for Wilkens are also featured on the action cards. Robertsons response might seem arrogant. West and Robertson were the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird of their day. He thinks its really going in! It did, sending Game 3 into overtime. 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. Inside) scoring nearly 35 ppg and West (Mr. Fans' memories have dimmed of Oscar Robertson and Jerry West. He averaged 27.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.8 rebounds for his career, making the Lakers one of the most relevant franchises in the league. After this loss, West retired due to contract disagreements with Cooke, and filed a suit for unpaid back wages. [9], West was an outgoing and aggressive child in his youth. [8], In the summer of 2000, the city of Morgantown, West Virginia, and West Virginia Governor Cecil Underwood, dedicated the road outside of the West Virginia University Coliseum, "Jerry West Boulevard". [26] In overtime, Jones scored several clutch baskets to ensure a 110107 win for the Celtics. The Big O appeared on the Knuckleheads podcast to discuss his favorite players in league history. I worked construction in the summer," said Robertson, noting that all players had off-season jobs then. 9 Copy quote. Oscar might dispute the analogy, though. When it snowed West played wearing gloves. West played the small forward position early in his career, and he was a standout at East Bank High School and at West Virginia University, where he led the Mountaineers to the 1959 NCAA championship game. In the 197273 NBA season, the main scoring role was taken by Goodrich, and West was now a playmaker instead of a scorer. In 2002, West became the general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies. A 112-81 triumph over Italy and finally, a 90-63 victory over Brazil, clinched the gold medal. One of the salient features that differentiate the 50s and 60s basketball from eras that came later is the lack of emphasis on stats. Van Lier See original listing. Wilt Chamberlain talks about how his contemporaries Jerry West and co wouldn't pursue stats After taking the series lead on Baylors then record 61-point performance in Game 5, Los Angeles dropped the next two. At the same time, West was likewise a standout high school player, winning West Virginia Player of the Year honors and leading his high school team to a state championship. "We stayed in dorms. Hence, every college game, every practice and every summer workout by 1958 became about the game within the game: winning at all costs, but also showing the world he could . Following another Finals loss in 1970, this time to the New York Knicks, the Lakers finally broke through in 1972 and beat the Knicks in five games for the only NBA title of Wests career; ironically, it was one of the worst individual postseasons of his career, as he averaged only 22.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and a league-best 8.9 assists per game. [47], Before the 197172 NBA season, West was smarting from his frequent injuries and losses and considered retirement. Frazier later commented: "The man's crazy. It was a beautiful thing wasted, West later said. Biography. Oscar Robertson vs Lenny Wilkens. From 1962-70, the Lakers reached the Finals six times, losing to Boston five times and to the Knicks once. Once there, the Lakers lost Game 1 to the Knicks, but then won four straight by relatively large margins. Rain. A smallish youth, West didnt make his junior high football, baseball or track teams. [8] West eventually became the team's starting small forward, and he quickly established himself as one of the finest West Virginia high school players of his generation. Could you live on that?" [32] Still, the Lakers guard finished the playoffs with 40.6points per game. Overall, Robertson visited the postseason 10 times in his career (six times in his decade with Cincinnati, and all four years in Milwaukee), where he lead the NBA in playoff assists 7x, including four straight years from 1962 to 1965; other individual postseason accomplishments included averaging a triple-double for the 1962 playoffs and leading the playoffs in minutes played for three straight years (including an astounding 48.8 minutes per game in 1964-1965). Ended: Feb 21, 2023. Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is: As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below. As a player with the Cincinnati (Ohio) Royals of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1961-62, he averaged . Oscar was sitting right there. His own athleticism far exceeded that of Jerry West, Oscar Robertson and the other guards/forwards on the 1960 team. [28] West spectacularly took over Baylor's leading role, as he scored 49 points and willed the shocked Lakers to the win. However, he made the Second Team of the inaugural All-Defensive Team. "How much weightlifting did you do?" TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unclesmokeking?_t=8XgGb5ev7yo&_r=1--All clips are property of the NBA. [40] L.A. also took Game 2, with West scoring 41 points. In 1980, West was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and named to the NBA 35th Anniversary Team. Overall, his time with the Royals was dominant over a decade with the team, he averaged at least 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists per game on 47.0% shooting, and was an All-Star plus a First Team or Second Team All-NBA selection each year. The NBA described West as "obsessive perfectionism, unabashed confidence, and an uncompromising will to win a level of intensity so high it could melt lead". document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. [36] In Game 5, an injured West scored 35points, but Boston won by threepoints. This site contains affiliate links to products. Jerry West was a 12-time All-NBA performer who knew how to elevate his game when the lights shined the brightest. He taught himself his quick shot release by bouncing the last dribble hard off the ground. Lillard was the only one to accomplish . Jerry West. [81] They have two sons, Ryan and Jonnie. West held himself to seemingly impossible standards. Having come this far, West would not be denied an NBA title. 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. The Lakers drafted him after the Cincinnati Royals drafted Oscar Robertson. [78] On June 1, 2019, President Donald Trump announced West would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. [8] He had a jump shot with a release the NBA lauded as "lightning quick", and was known for making baskets late in the game, earning him the nickname "Mr. 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. The game, which was the Lakers' first home game of . [59], After his coaching stint, West worked as a scout for three years before becoming general manager of the Lakers before the 198283 seasons. In fact, scoreboard keepers didnt introduce the concept of assists till after Bob Cousy revolutionized the PG position. [8] He was the fifth of six children of Cecil Sue West, a housewife, and Howard Stewart West, a coal mine electrician. For both Robertson and West, their stellar rookie campaigns were just a sign of things to come over the next decade and a half, both players would continue to dominate the NBA as individual players, though it would take a bit longer for each one to overcome the Boston Celtics dynasty and win an NBA title. Shaver emphasized the importance of conditioning and defense, which were lessons that the teenager appreciated. [8] These performances soon earned West his first of fourteen NBA All-Star Game call-ups. ". Triple Double, Ozzie, Oscar the Grouch) Position: Point Guard Shoots: Right 6-5, 205lb (196cm, 92kg) . When the chips were down, West, with his lightning-quick release, was the guy the Lakers turned to for the big basket. It was 200 degrees and a heat wave in Rome. As his line-drive jumper headed for nothing but net, he would run off the court, clapping his hands, never looking back because it was a sure thing. West departed from the Lakers at the end of the 1999-2000 season. 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. They edged the Detroit Pistons in the division semifinals but then lost to the St. Louis Hawks in the division finals. On May 20, 2011, West was hired by the Warriors as one of the teams executive members, where he assisted the team in basketball and non-basketball related decisions. [15] The Lakers won 60 games and reached the 1973 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. West averaged 27 points for his career to Robertson's 25.7. Before Game 1, West privately complained to Bill Russell of exhaustion, but then the Lakers guard scored 53 points on Boston in a close two-point win. [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. Particularly thrilling are the high odds of discovering the rookie cards of iconic names like Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. FGA, TRB, AST, PF, GS over 99% complete back to 1975-76. He also ranked fourth in both assists (6.1 apg) and free- throw percentage (.860). 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. But his all-around excellence was unprecedented for a guard. Following another five-game loss to Boston in 1963-1964, Cincinnati would never again make it past the first round with Robertson. Very rarely was I satisfied with how I played. This obsessive quest for perfection was a constant during Wests playing years, and it continued in his later roles as coach and general manager of the Lakers and in similar front-office roles he held with the Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors and LA Clippers. [55] West wanted to re-negotiate his contract and keep playing, however, he said Cooke "basically told my agent to go to hell. Overall, both Robertson and West played 14 NBA seasons from 1960-1974, with Robertson having a 100+ games played advantage due to better health. Im not willing to sacrifice my standards, West told the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner when he retired. [39], In the 1969 NBA Playoffs, the 55-win Lakers defeated the Atlanta Hawks and the San Francisco Warriors, setting up the sixth finals series versus Boston in eight years. 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