The player picked in front of West in 1960 was Oscar Robertson.
West was one of the few in NBA history to have just as successful a career after retirement than as great as he was on the court. With the Lakers, West was a 14-time All-Star, including 10 times making the NBA’s All First Team. He was the 1970 scoring champion, and was named to the league’s All Defensive First team four times.
His #44 jersey was retired to the rafters of the Great Western Forum on November 19, 1983, as only the third Laker to earn such honors. The ceremony was 10 days after Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor were simultaneously honored.
Growing up in East Bank, West Virginia, West stayed home, attending West Virginia University from 1957-1960. His junior and senior years garnered consensus First Team All-American honors, and he was named Most Outstanding Player of the 1959 Final Four, when his Mountaineers finished runner-up to California 71-70.
West paired in the Laker backcourt with UCLA legend Gale Goodrich, whose #25 was retired in 1996. Goodrich spent two different stints with the Lakers, both times teaming with West. It was the second go-around beginning in 1970 that proved to be the most bountiful. In 1972, the Lakers downed the New York Knicks in five games to claim the NBA Championship.
It would be the only championship on the resume of both West and Goodrich as players.
After retiring in 1974, West took a few years off, before owner Jack Kent Cooke brought him back as head coach. Despite reaching the playoffs all three years, including a trip to the 1977 Western Conference Finals, West and the Laker brass parted ways as head coach. He worked for three years as a scout, before coming back as General Manager in 1982.
This is where West was most known for today’s generation. It was West who assembled what we now know as the “Showtime Lakers” of Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper, Byron Scott, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. There was also Pat Riley in his first head coaching job as promoted from assistant by West. Riley would coach the Lakers for 18 seasons, winning four rings.
West became the GM of the Memphis Grizzlies in 2002, and won the NBA’s Executive of the Year Award in 2004, after making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Memphis went from winning 28 games in West’s first season, the franchise’s second after moving from Vancouver, to 50, despite being swept in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs.
West moved onto the Golden State Warriors in 2011, and became the architect for the dynasty the franchise has evolved into. The Warriors won their first championship in 40 years in 2015, then a second in 2017.
After the 2017 championship, West moved back to Los Angeles, but this time in the front office of the Clippers. While not yielding any championships, the Clippers made the playoffs five of West’s seven years, including their first division championship this season. The franchise acquired superstars Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Paul George in recent seasons, but are still looking for their first appearance in the NBA Finals.
“Mr. Clutch,” as he was dubbed by legendary Laker radio announcer Chick Hearn, holds the dubious distinction of winning the 1969 NBA Finals MVP Award, now known as the Bill Russell Award. To date, this has been the only time the award was given to a player on the losing team, as the Lakers fell to the Boston Celtics in seven games. Boston also became the first team in NBA Finals history to win a Game Seven on the road. West’s career total of 1,679 points in the Finals is 117 better than current Laker LeBron James for most all time.
With James turning 40 next season, and the Lakers in a state of flux, West’s record may never be approached again. No other active NBA player has reached 950. (Steph Curry has 926, despite four championships and six trips to the FInals.
West’s sons are both active members in NBA front offices. Ryan is an executive with the Detroit Pistons, while Jonnie is the Director of Basketball Operations for the Warriors. Jonnie is also married to recently retired LPGA player Michelle Wie.
You might say the only blemish on West’s accolades is receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019. The highest civilian award in the United States was given by a now 34-time convicted felon.
-JC24