Jerry West - Legacy

Legacy

West ended his playing career with 14 All-Star, 12 All-NBA Team and five All-Defensive Team selections, and scored 25,192 points, 6,238 assists and 5,366 rebounds in 932 games, translating to an average of 27.0 points, 6.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game. Among retired players, only Michael Jordan, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain surpass his 27.0 points per game average. He led the Lakers in scoring in seven seasons, and was universally seen as one of the greatest clutch players in NBA history; only Jordan had a higher career scoring average in the playoffs (33.5 versus 29.1). In 1979, West was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Lakers retired his #44 jersey in 1983. In March 2008, ESPN voted West the third greatest shooting guard of all time. As a coach, West led the Lakers into three consecutive playoff campaigns, and then went on to win seven NBA championships as a general manager, building the 1980s Lakers dynasty under coach Pat Riley and players Magic Johnson, Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy and the 2000s under coach Phil Jackson and players Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

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." The same road is shared on the south end of Morgantown with Don Knotts Boulevard, in honor of another WVU alumnus. Also, on November 26, 2005, his number 44 became the first basketball number to be retired by West Virginia University and on February 17, 2007, a bronze statue of him was honored outside of the WVU Coliseum. On February 17, 2011, a Jerry West statue was unveiled outside Staples Center at the Star Plaza in Los Angeles, California. Finally, the NBA logo itself is modelled after West's silhouette.