Jerry West
Jerry West was an American basketball player, coach, and sports executive whose career spanned decades on both sides of the game.
West was born on May 28, 1938, in Chelyan, and went on to study at West Virginia University before entering professional basketball. His playing career earned him recognition at the highest level, including selection to the All-NBA Team and the NBA All-Defensive Team, honors that reflected his standing among the sport's top competitors. He also received the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award and the NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award during his time as a player.
After his playing days, West moved into coaching and later into front-office work as a sports executive, a role in which he received the NBA Executive of the Year Award. His contributions to the game across these different capacities were recognized at the national level when he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the highest civilian honors in the United States. He died on June 12, 2024, in Los Angeles, having built a career that touched nearly every aspect of professional basketball.
West's work as a player, coach, and executive placed him at the center of the sport across multiple eras, and the honors he collected — from All-NBA and All-Defensive Team selections as a player to the Executive of the Year Award in his front-office role — reflect a career defined by sustained engagement with basketball at its most competitive level.
Quotes by Jerry West
Jerry West's insights on:
Obviously, stats are important tools, but I think there's something behind those things; somewhere along the way, you've got to try to look inside someone.
There's always two or three players I like, and why I like them, I can't tell you. There's just something about them I think would be great on a team.
I went a few times, but I felt there was no way that any therapist could understand my particular torment and also felt in some respects they were sicker than I was.
I've always been really nationalistic, and I had a brother killed in Korea. And I think the 'Star Spangled Banner,' even today - and I've heard it a heckuva lot of times, OK - has always been a significant feeling to me.
I'd go fishing and always pretend I would catch the biggest fish. I'd stay out there for hours after everybody else left until I caught something. When I shot baskets, I was always the coach and star player and always made the winning shot.
I know when I left the game, I could have played more. There is no question. I think I could have played at a very high level, too. But I could not play the way everyone wanted me to play. And I was not willing to compromise what I felt was a standard that I had established in this league and, particularly, for our fans at home.
Some guys lay their fannies out there every night - they play the game at such a high level, and they give so much that, frankly, they don't get credit for it. And I think it's tragic sometimes.
Everyone always says you have to be on the best team, the team that wins. Oh, no, no, no. I disagree with that.
I'm at the point where you look back on your life and reflect. I've always been an unbelievable critic of me. If we lost a game, I blamed myself every night. I'm very proud of some of the things I did as an athlete, as an executive.