Jerry West is a famous basketball player from America. Managed to visit the team of all NBA stars twelve times. All the time playing in the Los Angeles Lakers. It was she who brought West great popularity and success. Today she holds her meetings at the Staples Center. He participated in the Olympic Games in 1960, and acted as captain, along with the team won gold medals. Introduced into the basketball hall of fame. Recognized as one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history. For three years he was the chief mentor of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Biography
Jerry Alan West was born on May 28, 1938. The birthplace is the town of Chelian, located in West Virginia, USA. Jerry West is a basketball player whose mother was a housewife, and his father worked as an electrician in a local coal mine. Quite often, the boy was left alone, since dad was at work almost the whole day. The boy spent all his free time throwing in the ring. Often, because of his passion, Jerry even missed dinner. The result was thinness. In winter, the future star played until the fingers on the hands froze.
Old school
He studied at Jerry West High School from 1952 to 1956. It was during this period that he got into the school basketball team. However, almost the entire first season remained spare. It did not work for him to go to the site due to the fact that the mentor considered him short. The changes happened next season. Jerry West has grown quite a lot over the summer, which allowed him to become the team captain. He took a forward position and in a short period became the most prominent player among local schools.
West virginia mounters
After graduation, many universities were interested in Jerry West. Nevertheless, West decided not to leave his native places and entered the University of West Virginia. In the debut season, the team for which he began to play, was able to win seventeen times, never having been defeated. As a result of his vibrant game, Jerry West received many awards and titles.
The 1958/59 season was even more successful for Jerry. The player showed his best side in every game. In 1959, he joined the United States team, which participated in the Pan American Games in Chicago.
The next season was the final in the university team. It was during this period that West set several personal records.
In 1960, Jerry was in the US team, which participated in the Olympic Games, held in Rome. The team showed its best side, scoring eight confident victories.
NBA
In the spring of 1960, an NBA draft took place, in which Jerry West joined the Minneapolis Lakers team. In the new club, West dropped to the position of defender instead of the striker, at which he spoke at the university. Soon enough, the newcomer managed to impress his teammates with his defensive abilities, as well as the height of the jump. Every day he conducted training, which remained the longest. Excellent performance helped West get to his first match of all the NBA stars. The basketball player made a huge contribution to the Los Angeles Lakers game and helped them improve statistics.
The following season, West spent as captain. Playing with great return, he was able to become the most productive in the team.
Leader
The 1964/65 season was one of the most successful in West's career. In every game for the “Lakers”, which today fights with teams at the Staples Center, he gave all his best. The average basketball performance was thirty-one points. This indicator was higher only for Chamberlain.
The next season has become even more productive for the player. West once again got into the match of all the NBA stars. In the team he had to take on the role of leader, as the captain was not completely ready for the fights.
Chamberlain Parish
In the summer of 1968, Wilt Chamberlain joined the team. The new Lakers got along well with West, but it didn’t work out with the team captain. Chamberlain didn’t do business with the Lakers coach. The situation in the team was constantly heating up. Eventually, West's performance began to decline, which averaged only 25.9 points per season.
The following season, West often complained to the coach about fatigue, but did not stop showing an excellent game in fights.
The team began the 1969/70 season with a new coach. Chamberlain and the team captain (Baylor) were injured, which allowed West to become the most successful player in the championship.
New success and retirement
West began the 1971/72 season with thoughts of retirement. The basketball player was constantly pursued by injuries that began to affect his performance. However, he soon decided not to leave the sport. At this point, the team has undergone enormous changes. “Lakers” led a new coach, and the former captain left the team and ended his career. The captain's place was offered to West and Chamberlain, but Jerry refused and put all his strength into the game. This season, he became the leader of the gear championship. In the same season, West was the first in his career to win the NBA title.
The next season was less successful. Goodrich became the main scorer in the team. West increasingly began to experience pains that interfered with his game.
The 1973/74 season was the final in the career of a 36-year-old basketball player. Due to injuries, he was able to spend only thirty-one games, but still remained an elite defender. Soon West came to the decision to end his career.
However, very soon Jerry West climbed the Lakers coaching bridge.
NBA logo
Probably everyone who is even a little interested in sports, and in particular basketball, saw the NBA emblem. It appeared a long time ago, namely in 1969. It began to be used from the 1971/1972 season. The creator of the logo is Alan Siegel. According to one version, the NBA logo depicts none other than Jerry West. Many experts claim that it is he who is on the logo. However, this was not officially confirmed, and the NBA even stated that it was simply a “city legend”. Only in April 2010, the creator of the logo in an interview admitted that one of the pictures of Jerry West was used in the development. West himself admitted that he would be flattered if he was depicted on the logo.