Jerry West Dies at 86; Hall of Famer, Lakers Legend Won 9 Total NBA Championships

Los Angeles Lakers legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Jerry West died Wednesday at the age of 86.

The West family released a statement:

The Los Angeles Clippers, with whom West had been a board member and consultant since 2017, announced Wednesday that he "passed away peacefully" with his wife, Karen, by his side.

West, whose silhouette is used in the NBA logo, won the 1972 NBA championship with the Lakers as a player and eight additional titles as an executive with the Lakers and Golden State Warriors.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver released a statement, calling West "a basketball genius and a defining figure in our league for more than 60 years."

Lakers star and fellow NBA legend LeBron James was among the many to post their remembrances of West on Wednesday:

After starring collegiately at West Virginia and winning the 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player Award, West was selected second overall by the Lakers in the 1960 NBA draft.

Known as "Mr. Clutch" for his late-game heroics, West spent his entire 14-year playing career with the Lakers.

West was a 14-time All-Star, one-time scoring champion, one-time NBA champion and one-time NBA Finals MVP, and in 932 career regular-season games, he averaged 27.0 points, 6.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds per contest while shooting 47.4 percent from the field.

After retiring at the conclusion of the 1973-74 season, West served as head coach of the Lakers for three seasons from 1976 to 1979, going 145-101 with three playoff appearances and one trip to the Western Conference Finals.

West transitioned into a front-office role with the Lakers after that, and by 1982, he was named the organization's general manager.

By the time West left the Lakers after the 1999-00 season, he had won six championships as a member of the Lakers' front office, and he was responsible for franchise-defining personnel moves such as trading for Kobe Bryant and signing Shaquille O'Neal in free agency.

West served as the Memphis Grizzlies' GM from 2002 to 2007 and then joined the Warriors' front office in 2011 as an executive board member.

He helped oversee the creation of the most dominant team of the 2010s and was part of the organization when Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Co. won championships in 2015 and 2017.

West returned to L.A. in 2017, but as a member of the Clippers' front office, serving on their board as they reached the playoffs five times in seven seasons, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2021.

West was one of basketball's true Renaissance men, as he enjoyed success as a player, coach and executive.

He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1979, and then again in 2010 as part of the 1960 United States basketball team that won a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

West has a third, posthumous Hall of Fame induction coming also, as he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in August in the contributor category for his success as an executive.