Jerry West dead at 86: Lakers legend whose silhouette remains the NBA’s logo passes away with wife Karen by his side

Jerry West, the basketball legend whose silhouette still serves as the NBA’s logo, has died at the age of 86. The Los Angeles Clippers announced the news on Wednesday, stating that West’s wife Karen was by his side.

Known as “Zeke from Cabin Creek,” the West Virginia native teamed with Elgin Baylor to turn the Los Angeles Lakers into a perennial contender in the 1960s, coinciding with Bill Russell’s dominance over the rival Boston Celtics . After Russell’s retirement in 1969, West and Wilt Chamberlain led the Lakers to the 1972 NBA title, albeit without the retired Baylor.

Chamberlain and Baylor died in 1999 and 2021, respectively. West, meanwhile, had a distinguished front office career, winning eight NBA crowns and two Executive of the Year awards. He continued to serve in an executive role with the Clippers at the time of his death.

News of West’s death sparked an immediate outpouring of grief from the basketball world, including ESPN’s Mike Greenberg and Lakers star LeBron James.

“I’ll really miss our conversations, my best friend!” James wrote on X. “My thoughts and prayers go out to your wonderful family! Forever love Jerry! Rest in paradise my husband!

Karen West, former NBA player Jerry West and son Jonnie West at an event in 2012

West shoots a free throw during a 1971 game against the Knicks at the Great Western Forum

“I’m sorry I’m the one to have to tell you,” Greenberg told his ESPN audience on Wednesday. “One of the greatest figures in the history of American sports, one of the greatest players and one of the most important people in the history of basketball in this or any country has passed away. Jerry West has passed away at the age of 86.”

In their statement, the Clippers described West as “the personification of basketball excellence and a friend to all who knew him.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued his own statement on Wednesday.

“Jerry West was a basketball genius and a defining figure in our league for more than 60 years,” Silver wrote. “He not only distinguished himself as an NBA champion and All-Star in each of his fourteen seasons, but also as a consummate competitor who embraced the greatest moments. He was the league’s first Finals MVP and turned the performance into his signature quality, earning him the nickname “Mr. Clutch.”

“I valued my friendship with Jerry and the knowledge he shared with me over the years about basketball and life,” Silver continued. “On behalf of the NBA, we extend our deepest condolences to Jerry’s wife, Karen, his family and his many friends in the NBA community.”

West’s success on the field often came at a price. As he admitted years later, the 6-foot-1 guard often struggled with depression in the offseason, much of which had to do with his six NBA Finals losses to the Boston Celtics.

“I went to bed feeling like I didn’t even want to live anymore,” West told HBO. “Sometimes I’ve been so low, when anyone else would be so high, because I didn’t like myself.”

A mostly private figure, West had been with Karen since 1987 and the couple have two sons, Ryan and Jonnie, the latter of whom played basketball at his father’s alma mater, WVU, and later married golfer Michelle Wie.

Previously, West was married to his college sweetheart, with whom he had three sons: David, Mark and Michael.

The iconic NBA logo was created using the silhouette of Lakers legend Jerry West

The current NBA logo was created in 1969 by Alan Siegel by incorporating the silhouette of Los Angeles Lakers star Jerry West from a photo (above) taken by Wen Roberts

The second overall pick in the 1960 draft, West was named to 14 All-Star teams during his career, averaging 27 points per game.

He then had an unsuccessful three-year stint as Lakers head coach before taking on a scouting role and then becoming the team’s general manager during the famed “Showtime” era.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, West was credited with acquiring Lakers greats including James Worthy, Byron Scott, AC Green, Vlade Divac, Nick Van Exel and Derek Fisher.

West later built the Lakers team that won three NBA titles between 2000 and 2002 with Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and coach Phil Jackson.

West played a key role in the trade for Bryant after he was originally selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 draft – using Divac as bait to land the 17-year-old phenom.

West left the Lakers to become general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies in 2002 before retiring five years later. He ultimately won his seventh and eighth managerial titles with Golden State in 2015 and 2017, albeit in a subordinate role.

He also joined the Clippers board in 2017 and helped successfully recruit two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard as a free agent in 2020.

All-American Jerry West tries to look his normal calm self as he poses with Yvonne DeCarlo

It was West who brought Kobe Bryant to the Lakers with a draft-day trade for Vlade Divac

Los Angeles Lakers guards Jerry West (44), Wilt Chamberlain (13) and Elgin Baylor (22)

West’s All-Star NBA career gave way to lifelong friendships with players like Chamberlain

Trump presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jerry West in September 2019

Jerry West is pictured in 2018 alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (left) and Bill Russell (right)

West, right, passes the ball to Wilt Chamberlain during an NBA Finals game against the Knicks

The current NBA logo was created by Alan Siegel in 1969 by incorporating West’s silhouette from a photo taken by Wen Roberts.

The logo was modeled after that of Major League Baseball, a silhouette of a player many mistakenly believe to be Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew. (The image is probably a composite of several players in the late 1960s).

The West logo debuted in 1971.

West, a Hall of Fame player with the Lakers, coached the team for a few unsuccessful seasons in the late 1970s before eventually putting together the team that won three straight titles in the early 2000s.

While general manager of the Lakers in the mid-1990s, West traded star center Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for the draft rights to a 17-year-old Bryant.

Bryant rewarded West by winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award as a rookie and eventually becoming an 18-time All-Star.

West later described himself as Bryant’s surrogate father because of their close bond.