A sad day for the basketball world.
West Virginia native, WVU legend, and NBA great Jerry West passed away this morning at the age of 86, the Los Angeles Clippers announced.
West played at WVU from 1958-60 and led the Mountaineers to their one and only national championship appearance. During his three years in Morgantown, West averaged 24.8 points per game. He was selected by the Minneapolis Lakers with the second overall pick in the 1960 NBA Draft and went on to play 14 years in the league, all with the Lakers. West is one of the NBA's most decorated players having been selected to 14 All-Star Games, named to the All-NBA team twelve times, a five-time member of the All-Defense team, and the scoring champion of the 1972 season - the year he guided the Lakers to a championship.
Shortly after his playing career, West was named the head coach of the Lakers and went 145-101 in three years on the job. He would later become arguably the greatest front office executive the game has ever seen, putting together a dynasty in L.A. with Kobe Bryant, rebuilding the Memphis Grizzlies, helping the Golden State Warriors become who they are today, and recently rebuilding the Clippers.
Earlier this spring, West became the first-ever person to be elected into the basketball Hall of Fame three times. He was previously inducted as a player in 1979 and then as a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team in 2010. His next induction will be as a contributor to the game.Publisher of Mountaineers Now on FanNation/Sports Illustrated. Lead recruiting expert and co-host of Between the Eers, Walk Thru GameDay Show, Mountaineers Now Postgame Show, and In the Gun Podcast.
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