[28] The Lakers struggled during the entire season, winning only 42 games, and were beaten by the Hawks in five games during the first round of the 1964 NBA Playoffs. West said, turning to a chuckling Robertson. Naturally, West enrolled at WVU, where he was a two-time All-American and averaged 24.8 ppg. Oscar Robertson: Cincinnati Royals (1960-1970) Milwaukee Bucks (1970-1974) Jerry West: Los Angeles Lakers (1960-1974) [64] West himself won his second NBA Executive of the Year Award in the same year. ", The NBA had only eight teams in 1960 when West and Robertson were rookies. He looks determined. 1 select and West the . In the 197273 NBA season, the main scoring role was taken by Goodrich, and West was now a playmaker instead of a scorer. Prior to the 1971-72 season, the 33-year-old West was considering retirement. [52] However, the Knicks took Games 2 and 3, and West strained both of his hamstrings: in Game 4, the shorthanded Lakers were no match for New York, and in Game 5, the valiant, but injured West and Hairston had miserable games, and despite Chamberlain scoring 23points and grabbing 21rebounds, the Lakers lost 10293 and the series. Meanwhile, as Robertson was dominating night in and night out in Cincinnati, West exploded in his second NBA season, averaging 30.8 points (on 44.5% shooting), a career-high 7.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game in 1961-1962, which resulted in the first of 10 First Team All-NBA selections. 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. Neither Chamberlains 50 point, 25.7 rebound average nor Oscars triple-double average swayed the media from such a view. 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. The Americans arrived in Italy in 1960 with 28 wins in as many games at the Olympics. "Certain players seem to be able to do things in a certain part of the game that they might not be able to do earlier," said West. They needed all five games to put away the Detroit Pistons but then lost to the St. Louis Hawks in seven games, losing the final game 105103. The team was powered by Sharman's emphasis on tough defense and fast break offense, and L.A. embarked on an unprecedented 33 game win streak, en route to a then-record 69 wins in the regular season. Wilt Chamberlain cited the examples of his former teammates Jerry West and Elgin Baylor to explain how in his view, NBA basketball got diluted. Despite being listed at 6feet 3inches (1.91m), Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 15:05, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, finals series versus Boston in eight years, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders, List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff assists leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association annual scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game, List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game, List of National Basketball Association players with most steals in a game, List of National Basketball Association single-game playoff scoring leaders, List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds, List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, "NBA 35th Anniversary All-Time Team | Basketball-Reference.com", "Jerry West talks about abusive father and lifelong struggle with depression", "1960-61 Los Angeles Lakers Roster and Statistics", "New York Knicks at Los Angeles Lakers Box Score, January 17, 1962", "Celtics, Lakers work OT to start Rivalry", "Baltimore Bullets at Los Angeles Lakers Box Score, April 5, 1965", "Red Lights Cigar to close coaching career", "West's heroics can't deprive Russell of 11th title", "Laker's Legendary Season Leads To Elusive Title", "Los Angeles Lakers 1971-72 Game Log and Scores", "New York Knicks at Los Angeles Lakers Box Score, May 7, 1972", "Owning Up to the Truth: Cooke Was the Best", "Los Angeles Lakers Owners, GM, Coaches", "Jerry West: Biography, Accomplishments & Awards", "Memphis Grizzlies Announce the Hiring of Jerry West as Franchise's New President of Basketball Operations", "Jerry West set to join Warriors front office, according to multiple NBA sources", "Hall of Famer Jerry West joins L.A. Clippers as consultant", "Looking for a new challenge, iconic executive Jerry West will join Clippers", "Jerry West explains his move to the Clippers", "NBA investigating Clippers' recruitment of Kawhi", Career Playoff Leaders and Records for Points Per Game, "Special Dime: Greatest Shooting Guards Ever", "WVU legend has a Morgantown street named in his honor", "That iconic NBA silhouette can be traced back to him", The Great Jerry West will be receiving our Nation's highest civilian honor, The Presidential Medal of Freedom, for his outstanding career, both on and off the court. I will say that Oscar fits the 'all around' definition better - he was *almost* as good at scoring as Jerry although not quite matching up to West's peak scoring abilities, he was a better rebounder and also a better passer (both by . Local de nasc. Lillard was the only one to accomplish . All rights reserved (About Us). [15] The Lakers won 46 games, and in the 1970 NBA Playoffs, they narrowly beat the Phoenix Suns in seven games and swept the Hawks in four, setting up the first NBA Finals between the Lakers and the rugged New York Knicks, led by Hall-of-Famers, such as Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, and Walt Frazier. But West, who had scored 38 points in a Game 4 win, had sprained his ankle and did not play at full strength the rest of the series. [15], West helped the Lakers improve from their previous 25-win season to 36 wins as they reached the 1961 NBA Playoffs. In 1980, West was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and named to the NBA 35th Anniversary Team. [8][10] He was so small, frail, and weak that he needed many vitamin injections from his doctor and was kept apart from children's sports, to prevent him from getting seriously injured. NEW: Sample Searches for learning more about the power and flexibility of Stathead. Theres a reason the leagues logo is the Los Angeles Lakers legends silhouette. Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; from Robertsons complementary role on the Bucks to Wests proneness to injury, both players were eventually affected by these factors. Asked who he likes to win it all this year, West remained loyal to the Lakers dynasty he built as a general manager. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network, *Translations are limited to select pages, NBA Legends: Profiling the league's greats, 5 takeaways from Durant's debut with Suns, Durant expected to make Suns debut tonight, David Benner, Pacers longtime PR director, dies, NBA DFS Picks: Yahoo plays & strategy for March 1, Kia Rookie Ladder: State of chase after All-Star, NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer Wednesday 3/1. Copyright: RU Sport Private Limited. The Lakers swept the Bulls and beat the Bucks in six games to reach The Finals. West logged similar averages as a rookie after the Los Angeles Lakers drafted him second overall behind Oscar Robertson, but his scoring nearly doubled in his second season. stories. [31] However, in the 1965 NBA Finals, the Celtics easily beat the short-handed Lakers, 41. Then as now, it is rings that really validate the best. [24], In West's second NBA season, the Lakers could only make limited use of Baylor, who was called up by the U.S. Army Reserves and could play only 48 games. [44] As the three-point line had not been introduced yet, the shot just tied the game. [71], West was an all-around combo guard who could take the playmaking roles of a point guard and score like a shooting guard, while being equally strong on offense and defense. The following year he and Oscar Robertson led an extremely talented U.S. squad to a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. The answer is "yes," according to The Ringer's Bill Simmons. New York, however, won the game and the title. [27], In the following 196364 NBA season, West became the Lakers' scoring leader for the first time. However, in 1951 his older brother, David, was killed in action in the Korean War, and the trauma turned West into a shy and introverted boy. Like many NBA stars, West came from humble beginnings. [67] In 2015, the Warriors won their first championship in 40 years; the championship was the seventh earned by West while serving as a team executive. Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas recalls the conversation quite well. His brilliance on and off the floor propelled West to call his former rival the best player of their era. Perhaps fittingly, the two players also went into the Hall of Fame together in 1980, and Wests silhouette continues to grace the NBA logo today. He believes sports connect us to our best selves, and he hopes to help people experience sports more holistically. And in NBA All-First Team Defense selections it wasn't even close. Ventaja : Jerry West. West is still regarded as one of the best pure scorers in NBA history. It wasn't a 3-pointer, but Jerry West's 60-foot prayer was answered in Game 2 of the 1970 NBA Finals. Having come this far, West would not be denied an NBA title. "How much weightlifting did you do?" [62] However, he laid down the foundation of the Lakers three-peat, which saw L.A. win three NBA titles from 2000-2002. "I had no tools to get better other than my own hard work," West said. "Fans believe what people tell them.". [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. [36] In Game 1, West only hit seven of 24 shots, and the Lakers lost 107101, but L.A. evened out the series at two games each. Kareem said Oscar was better than Magic. During his 14-year playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers, West became synonymous with brilliant basketball. 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. 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