Jerry West, who was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and an executive, has died aged 86.
The basketball legend died on Wednesday morning, local time, the Los Angeles Clippers said in a statement.
West’s wife, Karen, was by his side when he died, the Clippers said.
He is being remembered for his constitution to the sport, including inspiring the US National Basketball Association’s (NBA) logo.
Who is Jerry West?
West was a 14-time All-Star, a 12-time All-NBA selection, part of the 1972 Lakers team that won a championship, an NBA Finals MVP as part of a losing team in 1969 and was selected as part of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.
He was general manager of eight NBA championship teams with the Los Angeles Lakers, helping build the Showtime dynasty.
He also worked in the front offices of the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors and the Clippers.
West was nicknamed “Mr Clutch” for his late-game exploits as a player.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1980 and again as a member of the 1960 US Olympic Team in 2010.
He will be enshrined for a third time later this year as a contributor.
West was “the personification of basketball excellence and a friend to all who knew him,” the Clippers said in announcing his death.
But he is arguably best known for being the inspiration behind the NBA logo.
What is the NBA logo?
You have probably seen it before.
It is a silhouette of a basketball player dribbling a ball, with blue on one side and red on the other — the colours of the US flag.
The design is simple and striking.
You could be forgiven for thinking the NBA logo was based on a photo of Chicago Bulls legend and Space Jam star Michael Jordan — but that is actually a trademark of Nike, used to promote its range of athletic footwear.
Why is the NBA logo Jerry West?
There is a great article from the Los Angeles Times about this from 2010.
The newspaper interviewed Alan Siegel, who designed the logo back in 1969.
West was one of Siegel’s favourite players, but the designer told the newspaper that wasn’t why he picked him for the design.
He had been looking through the photo archives from Sport magazine and an image of West struck him.
“It had a nice flavour to it,” Seigel said.
“So I took that picture and we traced it.
“It was perfect. It was vertical and it had a sense of movement. It was just one of those things that clicked.”
He told the paper his original artwork had been lost over the years “through several office moves”.
In previous interviews, West said he was “flattered” the logo was based on his silhouette, but that he wished the fact it was based on him had been kept secret.
“I don’t like to do anything to call attention to myself,” he told ESPN back in 2017.
“That’s just not who I am.
“If they would want to change it … in many ways, I wish they would.”
ABC with AP
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